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TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



I PART I. 

SEX AND LIFE. 

Chapter. Page. 
I. The Principle of Life 9 

II. The Dominant Power ofcLife 20 

III. The Temple of the Soul 31 

IV. The Temple of the Sojul (Continued) 57 

V. The Unfolding of Womanhood 83 

VI. The Fulfillment of the Law 95 

VII. The Fruits of Fulfillment 106 

VIII. Home and Homemaking 116 

IX. Mature Life 132 

PART II. 

TOKOLOGY. 

T. The Organs of Generation 147 

II. Menstruation 160 

III. The Marriage Relation 173 

IV. Conception and Pre-Natal Culture 187 

V. Child-Birth . 212 

VI. Hygiene of Infancy 223 



vi TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Chapter. Page!. 

VII. Development from Birth to Puberty. 242 

VIII. Disorders of Infancy and Childhood 253 

IX. Afflictions Peculiar to Women ■ 2J) 

X. What Determines the Sex of Offspring 292 

PART III. 

CHILD-CULTURE. 

I. The Foundation of Moral Uprightness 30Q 

II. The Kindergarten 3: 

III. Manual Training 356 

PART IV. 

HEALTH AND HYGIENE. 

I. Long Life Not a Secret 2 

II. "Breath is Life" 382 

III. How, When and What to Eat } 

IV. Sleep and the Bath 3 

V. Clothing and Dress 4 

VI. Mental and Physical Culture 4 

VII. What to Do in Sickness 4 

VIII. What Not to Do in Sickness 4 

IX. Care of the Eyes and Ears 4 

X. Care of the Extremities 452 

XL Poisons L T sed as Medicines 460 

XII. The Application of Heat and Cold 46c 

XIII. Unnecessary Surgical Operations 4 

XIV. The Helplessness of Doctors 4 

XV. An Ounce of Prevention 493 



1 * 



PART I 



SEX AND LIFE 



THE MYSTERY OF NATURE AND THE 
GLORY OF CREATION. 



" This sublime vision comes to the pure and simple soul in a 
clean and chaste body," — Emerson. 



PART I. 




CHAPTER I. 
The Vital Principle of Life. 

'HE perpetuity of any species is dependent upon the 
power of each individual of the class to transmit 
life. This power is received through sex, which is 
to be seen everywhere in the domain of nature among 
creatures which live, move and have being, and in vegeta- 
tion which blossoms and brings forth each after its kind. 
Types may vary according to the environment in which they 
have been placed, but the scientist can trace each to the source 
from which it sprang. 

Biology, the broad science which comprehends the phe- 
nomena manifested by living matter, elaborates on the continu- 
ance of life by transmission to offspring. In the lowest form 
of life the only mode of generation now known is the division 
of the body into two or more parts, each of which grows to the 
size and assumes the form of its parent and repeats the process 
of multiplication. This method of multiplication by fission 
is properly called generation because the parts which are sepa- 
rated are severally competent to give rise to individual organ- 
isms of the same nature as that from which they arose. 

In the higher forms, life is reproduced by a union of parents 
of different sexes. This is gamo- genesis ; the other is agamo- 
genesis. 

Sex is not substance. It is a power pervading the realm of 
living things, and is known through its manifestations. While 

9 



10 THE VITAL PRINCIPLE OF LIFE. 

all organisms are provided with the means of reproduction, the 
means are not the thing itself. 

In the human family children are born male and female 
often of the same parents. Why is not clearly defined. Some 
observers state that good conditions, tending even toward 
voluptuousness, produce females ; and vice versa : a theory in 
confirmation of Mother Goose's jingle: 

"Little boys are made of rags, tags, and old pudding bags; 
Little girls are made of sugar and spice, and everything nice." 

By whatever combination of prenatal circumstances they are 
sexed, babes are usually born with either the masculine or femi- 
nine principle clearly defined. 

In "True Manhood" are found these words : 

"The soul is the man. If possessed of the masculine attribute 
he appropriates to this end the substances he eats and the air 
he breathes. He transforms them by this principle into a male 
body. A soul having the feminine principle transforms these 
substances into a female body. The ovaries of the female as 
well as the testes of the male are organizers, but they produce 
unlike results from the same material. 

"The physical manifestations of sex in face, form and voice 
are the outward signs of an inward power." 

All creative ability has its origin in the sex nature. New and 
useful conceptions of the brain are applauded, although the 
generality of our race and clime do not know the source. 

The Sexual Instinct* 

Mr. Grant Allen, who in his lifetime was a student and 
thinker, said : "Everything high and ennobling in our nature 
springs directly out of the sexual instinct. Its alliance is wholly 
with whatever is purest and most beautiful within us. To it 
we owe our brightest colors, graceful form and melodious 



THE VITAL PRINCIPLE OF LIFE. 11 

sound, rhythmical motion. To it we owe the evolution of 
music, of poetry, of romance, of belles lettres; the evolution of 
sculpture, of decorative art, of dramatic entertainment. To it 
we owe the entire existence of our aesthetic sense, which is, in 
the last resort, a secondary sexual attribute. From it springs 
the love of beauty; around it all beautiful arts still circle as 
their center. Its subtle aroma pervades all literature. And to 
it, too, we owe the paternal and maternal and marital relations ; 
the growth of the affections; the love of little pattering feet 
and baby laughter ; the home with all the associations that clus- 
ter around it ; in one word, the heart and all that is best in it. 
"If we look around among the inferior animals, we shall see 
that germs of everything which is best in humanity took their 
rise with them in the sexual instinct. The song of the nightin- 
gale, or of Shelley's skylark, is a song that has been acquired 
by the bird himself to charm the ears of his attentive partner. 
The chirp of the cricket, the cheerful note of the grasshopper, 
the twittering of the sparrow, the pleasant caw of the rookery — 
all these, as Darwin showed, are direct products of sexual se- 
lection. Every pleasant sound that greets our ears from hedge 
or copse in a summer walk has the self-same origin. If we 
were to take away from the country the music conferred upon 
it by the sense of sex we should have taken away every vocal 
charm it possesses save the murmuring of brooks and the whis- 
pering of breezes through the leaves. No thrush, no blackbird, 
no linnet would be left us; no rattle of the night-jar over the 
twilight fields; no chirp of insect, no chatter of tree-frog, no 
cry of cuckoo from the leafy covert. The whippoorwill and 
the bobolink would be as mute as the serpent. Every beautiful 
voice in wild nature from the mocking-bird to the cicada is, in 
essence, a love-call ; and without such love-calls the music of the 
fields would be mute, the forest would be silent." 



12 THE VITAL PRINCIPLE OF LIFE. 

Throughout the domain of nature the instinct of sex is 

paramount. In the lower kingdom of life the instinct, pure and 
undefiled, is followed. In the human family the instinct is 
subject to the modifications of civilization; which, alas, is not 
always for the best. And lives are colored by the thoughts of 
sex, which may be any of the varying shades between good and 
bad. Asceticism on one hand strives to suppress all thoughts 
and feelings regarding the relation of the sexes as impure. 
Those who are so narrow as to conform to the letter while 
lacking the spirit of true religion may be cited as the most 
baneful of combatants of pure thought on the subject. Sus- 
pecting evil with a large E, they become the self-constituted 
guardians of public and private morals. Kipling remarks it 
in one of his "Tales." He says : "You have noticed that many 
religious people are deeply suspicious. They seem — for purely 
religious purposes, of course — to know more about iniquity 
than the Unregenerate. Perhaps they were specially bad before 
they were converted ! At any rate, in the imputation of things 
evil and in putting the worst construction on" things innocent, 
a certain type of good people may be trusted to surpass all 
others/' Their perverted understanding, or lack of under- 
standing, distorts and discolors much with which they come 
in contact. Seeking for the unlovely, the good, the true, the 
beautiful is lost to view. 

On the other hand is the unchaste, immoral sensualist, who 
believes that life means gratification of the senses, the most 
exquisite of which is in the sexual relation. He drains the 
wine of life to the dregs, and when at last sated can see 
nothing of the true use of bodily senses. The extremes exist 
because they do not know the truth. 



THE VITAL PRINCIPLE OF LIFE. 13 

The Training: of Youth* 

As to the training of youth, Prof. David Starr Jordan says : 
"The ultimate end of science as well as its initial impulse is 
the regulation of human conduct. To make right action 
possible and prevalent is the function of science. The world 
as it is is its province. In proportion as we conform to the 
conditions of the world as it is, do we find the world beautiful, 
glorious, divine. The truth of the 'world as it is' must be the 
ultimate inspiration of art, poetry and religion. The world as 
many have agreed to say it is, is quite another matter. The 
less our children hear of this the less they will have to unlearn 
in their future development. 

"By the study of realities wisdom is built up. In the rela- 
tions of objects he can touch and move, the child comes to 
find the limitation of his powers, the laws which govern phe- 
nomena, and to which his actions must be in obedience. So 
long as he deals with realities these laws stand in their proper 
relation. 

"It is clear that the knowledge is of most worth which can 
be most directly wrought into the fabric of our lives. That dis- 
cipline is most valuable which will best serve us in quietly 
unfolding our own individualities." 

Applying Prof. Jordan's words to understanding what is 
really true of the sex nature, the same law holds in force; the 
relation of that department of human nature to other depart- 
ments must be known and the law obeyed if one would find life 
glorious, divine, beautiful. 

Manifestation of the sex principle in the human family is 
not noticeable until the beginning of puberty, the average age 
for which is about fourteen years. In the boy, the bony frame- 
work enlarges, the shoulders broaden, the chest expands, and 
the voice deepens. He bears within his being the creative 



14 THE VITAL PRINCIPLE OF LIFE. 

impulse, for the first time. If properly instructed, creative 
force will be turned into the channel of energy and vigor ; if not, 
the probabilities are that the instinct will revert to the type as 
seen in many of the lower animals. 

The changes of puberty are as pronounced in the healthy girl 
as in the healthy boy. Bodily enlargement is most noticeable 
at the hips; the framework increases in size to permit of en- 
largement of the ovaries and uterus. In sympathy with these 
the mammary glands, or breasts, enlarge. The mental changes 
are as remarkable; life assumes more pleasing proportions as 
the period of adolescence is ushered in. 

Safety in Knowledge Only* 

Knowing that the voice of passion will speak to every normal 
child, none are worthy of the name of parent who will not by 
every known method instruct their children. "If sharp tools 
were of necessity," says a modern thinker, "to be put into the 
hands of a child, we should realize that instruction in the wise 
use of them would be needed; and, if by ignorance the child 
were injured, we should blame ourselves more than we should 
him. The powers that come with the development of maturity, 
unless understood, are more dangerous than the sharpest razor, 
but the tacit teaching of society is that parents and teachers 
must keep silent and leave the child to learn by his own experi- 
ence, and also to suffer the results of his own ignorance." 

In its unperverted aspect, the prompting of passion is the 
prompting to create ; it is a great impelling force needing guid- 
ance. Of the many ways of expressing this power that of the 
physical union of the sexes is to be used the least ; because of 
the intensity of feeling, great inroads are thus made upon the 
vitality of the body, consuming what might be used in making 
the most of life's possibilities. The haphazard generation of 



THE VITAL PRINCIPLE OF LIFE. 15 

offspring is what the world least stands in need of, and procrea- 
tion is always attended by waste in parental energy. 

It is part of the great plan of nature that the sexes shall be 
attractive to each other. "Either sex alone is half itself," says 
Tennyson. And "love is the fulfillment of the law," says an 
older volume. Companionship between the sexes is necessary 
to preserve an equilibrium. Those who are isolated are those 
who know least how to control the attraction toward the oppo- 
site sex. Hence comradery should be cultivated; comradery 
as human beings, however, not as representatives of opposite 
sexes. 

When the time for marriage shall arrive, again there is need 
of the counsel of wise and loving friends, and good books. The 
realities of what the relation may mean should be made as 
clear as possible. The interested parties should learn the im- 
portant lesson that control of the animal propensity and 
diverting the impelling force into other creative channels are 
more necessary after marriage than before, for the good of all 
concerned. The removal of all barriers to full and free in- 
timacy would not mean license to unlimited sexual gratifica- 
tion if youth was properly instructed. "Life is harmony and 
health," writes a correspondent to one of the progressive jour- 
nals. "There is harmonious expression for every natural im- 
pulse of life. Life is creative. To be filled with life is to be 
filled with creative desire. Every thought and every feeling 
is vitalized within this creative life. Life has endless variety; 
it creates in myriad ways. This variety is in man because life 
is in him. The world is filled with his creations, and still his 
creations are multiplying. Every human being feels an im- 
pulse to create in a way peculiar to himself, and ever longs until 
his desire is fulfilled. 

"Now, when a human being develops from childhood into 



16 THE VITAL PRINCIPLE OF LIFE. 

youth, and feels the influx of a larger life in heart, in mind, in 
body, is he — or she — told, this is life impelling you to use it 
in creating beautiful and useful works for the help and happi- 
ness of your brothers and sisters ? Life is love — and love de- 
sires to give itself and to create freely. 

"No, he is told this new sensation is the animal passion which 
develops in all animals. It is the desire of the animal for sexual 
union with its own species; and its use is the perpetuation of 
the species ; you will never find satisfaction and relief except in 
the fulfillment of this desire. 

"Then begins the concentration of thought upon the sensa- 
tion of life, and locating it in one part of the body. From 
henceforth every new influx of life is determined here, instead 
of being distributed through the whole body, as it would natur- 
ally be if the thought was not trained to prevent it. This causes 
congestion in place of free circulation, and inflammation in 
place of delightful sensation ; and there is more or less uncon- 
trollable desire for expression in one direction, instead of grand 
desires in many directions. While passion is being cultivated, 
the youth is also taught that this desire of the physical cannot 
be gratified except he secures a permit that is made legal, and 
marry one of the opposite sex." 

Recapitulating the average life, "as men have agreed to say 
it is," it can be readily seen that the scant teaching the young 
receive regarding the development of life tends to make of 
marriage a state of unlimited debauchery, where self-control 
is thrown away. Why wonder at the few comparatively happy 
unions when it is only by chance that any have learned the 
beneficence of creative life, or the powers of sex. Outside of 
marriage sexual indulgence is regarded as degrading. 
Through what chemistry does wrong become right by legal 
enactment? Laws are supposed to bind people together for 



THE VITAL PRINCIPLE OF LIFE. 17 

sake of offspring, because offspring are believed to be the 
necessary consequence of physical intimacy. Heaven pity the 
pair whose only tie is the legal one, and pity the offspring 
of such unions! 

Comradery, mutual interest, equality and reciprocal affection 
are the true binding forces, which no law can sever, nor 
generate if they do not exist. These are enhanced by conjugal 
intimacy of the nature that does not exhaust. "Conservation 
of power is both possible and effective for the unmarried ; and 
through love, training and self-control, marriage may be con- 
summated in such manner that not only is the same conserva- 
tism and appropriation attained, but, by the union of the spir- 
itual forces of two souls, it is greatly augmented." — Karezza. 

Completeness is never attained by man alone, or by woman 
alone. The eternal feminine complements the eternal mascu- 
line. Mutual love and tenderness leading up to a final complete 
blending of physical and spiritual natures generates a binding 
attractiveness that will not be set aside lightly. 

A dramatic critic, in reply to the moralist (described by 
Kipling) who criticised the stage, remarks: "They (the ag- 
gressive moralists) will say, 'How do you account for the 
fact that a play in which there is exhibited pronounced sexual- 
ity or scenes of excessive passion or abnormal characters such 
as courtesans, strong-willed self-helpers, or even perverted be- 
ings, attract large audiences ? How do you explain the fact 
that if a play contains what are described as naughty episodes, 
or suggestive scenes, it is pretty sure to be successful?' 

"Now to these two pertinent questions I am not going to give 
the reply of the ordinary aggressive moralist, that human 
nature is evil and naturally turns to evil. This answer is 
neither real, true, nor philosophic. The real answer is parallel 
to the answer we must give to the question, Why do all men 



18 THE VITAL PRINCIPLE OF LIFE. 

and women secretly enjoy naughty stories, especially those 
dealing with indelicate subjects? Because these things are 
fundamentally of the first importance to the affirmation of life 
and its continuance." 

It is not true, however, that all men and women enjoy 
"naughty" stories. The ascetic who truly believes the passion 
of the body to be vile shrinks from vileness. On the other 
hand, all who have learned to reverence the creative department 
or life are hurt and offended by common jesting or salacious 
stories. 

Of the darkness and mysticism that surrounds the subject of 
love Mrs. Jameson asks : "Must love be ever discussed in 
blank verse as if it were a thing to be played in tragedies or 
sung in song, a subject for pretty poems or wicked novels, 
having nothing to do with the prosaic current of our every-day 
existence, our normal welfare and eternal salvation? Must 
love ever be treated with profaneness as a mere illusion, or 
with shame as a mere weakness, or with levity as a mere 
accident ? whereas it is a great necessity lying at the founda- 
tion of morality and happiness. Death must come — and love 
must come ; but the state in which they find us, whether aston- 
ished, blinded, frightened and ignorant, or like reasonable crea- 
tures guarded, prepared and fit to manage our own feelings, 
this, we suppose, depends upon ourselves. For want of such 
self-management and self-knowledge look at the evils that 
ensue : hasty, improvident, unsuitable marriages ; repining, dis- 
eased or vicious celibacy; irretrievable infamy; cureless insan- 
ity. With childhood and youth thus frightened, oh, see to it, 
parents, that your own hands hold the helm of destiny rather 
than suffer such interests to be wafted by the gusts of casual 
influence, or driven upon the lee-shore of ruin by the monsoon 
of artfully excited passions. " 

Only the truth will make them whole. 



THE VITAL PRINCIPLE OF LIFE. 19 

Sex and Life* 

Sex is the vital principle of, life, and must be preserved as 
its balance-wheel. Any unnatural mode of thought or prac- 
tice which silences the voice of desire emasculates character ; 
from thence onward life is upon the down-grade. No one has 
been truly great who has been weak in sexuality. Geniuses are 
only conceived by a complete blending of the entire natures of 
parents. That geniuses are rare accents the fact that the 
majority are born of the merely physical unions. 

Emanuel Swedenborg said : "The spiritual fruits of the 
union of the sexes are love and wisdom." 

The celibate life may be full of much that is good, true and 
beautiful, but perfection is approximated most nearly when 
the two principles of sex are harmoniously mated. No adult 
alone in life but will, in the silence, know a longing for 
the counterpart who must be somewhere in the world. But 
abundant and useful employment for hands and brain will pre- 
vent any blighting influence from devastating the good there is. 
Unmarried persons should make it a point to mix freely in 
the society of equals. The magnetic atmosphere of a company 
of men and women has a tonic influence on those who 
live alone. If no effort is made to draw one away from self in 
a greater or less degree, vital force will wane. Man needs the 
society of woman ; woman needs the friendship of man. If it 
can not be that they can forsake all other ties, cleave to one 
another, and rear a brood of love-begotten children, less inti- 
mate association will relatively benefit. 

The isolated ascetic can never enter into the portals of spir- 
itual grace and strength, such as is the outgrowth of association 
between the sexes. In true marriage the only natural way is 
opened for growth in every direction. Loveless lives are non- 
progressive lives. 



PART I. 




CHAPTER II. 
The Dominant Power of Life* 

HE power to think and reason and to express the 
higher intellectual planes through the forces of 
same in language seems to be one of the strongest dis- 
tinguishing features between humankind and their 
kindred, the lower animals. The power to ascend to thought 
is exclusively human. 

In the scope of human intelligence advancement is made by 
the ability to choose. Life is represented by contrasts; or by 
positive and negative forces. The positive gives, the negative 
takes away. The most common of these contrasts are light and 
darkness, heat and cold, good and evil, all of which have their 
uses in the economy of life. The power of choosing from the 
positives, or the negatives, is in thought. If the power to think 
is but weakly used individuals are straws on the current of life, 
wafted hither and thither by the force of thought of others upon 
the same plane with themselves. Nature abhors a vacuum, and 
if one will not think his own thoughts, the mind will be filled, 
or preyed upon, by thoughts of others to a large extent. 
Thought modifies the cast of feature, the manner of gesture, 
and the entire character. If you are determined and decided 
the bearing and address will make it known ; vice versa. Dick- 
ens recognized the outward expression of the interior life and 
makes use of it in describing "Miss Wade" in the story of Little 

Dorrit: "Although not an open face, there was no pretense 

20 



THE DOMINANT POWER OF LIFE. 21 

about it. 'I am self-contained and self-reliant. Your opinion 
is nothing to me. I have no interest in you, care nothing for 
you, and see and hear you with indifference' — this it plainly 
said. It said so in the proud eyes, in the lifted nostril, in the 
handsome but compressed and even cruel mouth. Cover either 
two of those channels of expression, and the third would have 
said so still. Mask them all, and the mere turn of the head 
would have shown an unsubduable nature." 

The Power of Thought* 

The veneer of polish which conventionality decrees can 
rarely hide real characteristics. The silent but powerful influ- 
ence of private thoughts makes a record upon the form, feature, 
and gesture. That thought is constructive is everywhere to be 
seen, and it follows in the direction of ideals. If there is no 
clear-cut ideal, character is vacillating. Life grows from 
within ; hence the true power to live comes from ideals approved 
by the conscience, and enforced by the will. 

Regarding thought Mr. C. C. Post says : "There are currents 
of thought as there are currents of electricity, of magnetism in 
the earth, of water on the surface of the earth, of air above the 
earth. I know it because the same law runs through all things, 
and there is never a cause without its accompanying effect; 
never a spring without a rivulet of flowing water." 

Whatever one thinks allies him with the strata of thought 
of others on the same line or current of thought. It attracts 
a similar element from others, in proportion to the strength put 
forth. 

The study of evolution shows that animals evolved the parts 
of body needed to place them in harmony with their surround- 
ings. While people may not be able through the force of their 
thoughts or desire to grow wings, they can, in the realm of 



22 THE DOMINANT POWER OF LIFE. 

mind, become that upon which the heart is fixed. Evolutionary 
development has progressed beyond the physical realm. "Fra 
Elbertus" says : "All things come through desire, and every 
sincere prayer is answered. 

"Many people know this, but they do not know it thoroughly 
enough so that it shapes their lives." 

To be convinced of a desire and be backed by resolution, its 
attainment will come, no matter how many obstacles must first 
be surmounted. The central idea is to fix the mind upon an as- 
piration, and then not waver in working to that end. That does 
not say that the end will bring peace and happiness, for it may 
not be in harmony with the abstract law of universal goodness, 
without which no one wins contentment. An object may be 
persistently desired which, when obtained, will only bring dis- 
appointment. But the law is the Law. We get negatives by 
desiring them. 

When life's forces or energies are put forth in a wrong direc- 
tion, even though it be done in ignorance, the seeds of punish- 
ment are implanted therewith. Or if the wrong is done know- 
ingly the individual is adding fuel to his own discomfiture. "Fra 
Elbertus" tells us that "Sin is its own punishment. God never 
punishes men for their sins : a self-lubricating, automatic Law 
looks after that." There is no escape from the penalty except a 
change of causes. As physical pain is felt from a misuse of 
bodily powers, so mental suffering must be as the result of mis- 
appropriation of mental powers. Experience in any degree of 
trangression ought to give wisdom to avoid the cause, on the 
same principle that "a burned child fears the fire." 

"Man wittingly or unwittingly violates law — physical, men- 
tal or spiritual — and the inner tribunal and sequential penalty 
judge him. The law in itself may be kindly and the penalty 
educational, but to his untrained vision they both seem adverse 



THE DOMINANT POWER OF LIFE. 23 

and even evil. But only through some experimental infraction 
of the moral order can undeveloped man divine its mandates. 
Only the freedom of choice, and some degree of discipline, at 
least slight, for missing the mark, make developed moral char- 
acter and spiritual fiber possible. As man progresses in inner 
unfoldment and attains higher evolutionary planes, his diver- 
gence from the moral highway will be more slight. At length 
he will feel its leadings and outgrow the necessity of the hard 
primitive cuffs and blows which are provisionally required to 
startle him and push him out of the deep ruts of animality. 
* * * Growth is only possible through wise choosing and 
exercise." — Prof. Henry Wood. 

Love the Needful Element* 

The needful element to growth is the spirit of love. And it 
may be cultivated by striving to overlook, to not recognize, 
anything that excites antagonism. The foundation principle 
was expressed by the Christ when He said, "But I say unto 
you resist not evil." And Prof. Wood says : "The scientific 
value of non-resistance is that it destroys all the realism that 
evil possesses. In proportion as one turns his back upon it and 
leaves it behind it dissolves into its native nothingness." 

As the absence of heat may cause one to freeze, and the 
absence of light may confuse and cause one to lose his way, 
so the absence of good may work to the disadvantage, and 
even injury, of one not fortified by strength from within. Good 
includes everything that works for the uplifting of human- 
kind. Evil includes whatever lowers. As soon as the intelli- 
gence comprehends the fact that evil has no power save as a 
place is given it in thought, and non-recognition is practiced, 
one is upon the true highway of mutual and spiritual progress. 
To aid this end Mrs. Talbot has the following to offer : "You 



24 THE DOMINANT POWER OF LIFE. 

must know that thoughts are creative, that words are spoken 
thoughts and stand for the things spoken. You can hold to a 
certain thought until you bring about the condition of that 
thought. You not only affect yourselves by thoughts, but 
others also. Bravery and confidence beget bravery and con- 
fidence; love and tenderness beget love and tenderness. But 
what is of most importance for you to know is that reiterating 
a certain word brings about the condition of mind that word 
or thought represents. This is a law capable of proof by all." 
In rhyme Ella Wheeler Wilcox expresses the same thought : 

"Words are great forces in the realm of life ; 
Be careful of their use. Who talks of hate, 
Of poverty, of sickness, but sets rife 
These very elements to mar his fate. 

"When love, health, happiness and plenty hear 
Their names repeated over day by day, 
They wing their way like answering fairies near, 
Then nestle down within our homes to stay. 

"Who talks of evil conjures into shape 

That formless thing, and gives it life and scope. 
This is the law. Then let no word escape 
That does not breathe of everlasting hope." 

An experiment as to the action and reaction of thought-force 
is as follows : 

When in the company of persons who do not antagonize 
what you have to say, enter into a description of something you 
dislike or hate. Let it be of a person who you think has done 
you wrong; or if you are a partisan in politics or religion, de- 
nounce the follies, fallacies and iniquities of the opposition. 



THE DOMINANT POWER OF LIFE. 25 

Let loose the vials of wrath, and be sure that you feel what 
you are saying; keep up the tirade as -long as you can. Then 
drop the matter and go about your ordinary occupation. Dis- 
miss the subject entirely and forget what you have been saying. 

In from two to six hours the rebound will be felt. Thoughts 
go first to the object toward which directed, and do their work 
if the person be not defended by a power of non-recognition 
of unwholesome influence. You may have forgotten the sub- 
ject of wrath or denouncement (though if trying it as an ex- 
periment you will not be apt to) . When the reaction comes a 
terrible fit of despondency is felt ; there will seem to be no light 
or ray of hope whichever way you look. You may even feel 
that life is not worth living and incline to suicide. Everything 
will assume the worst possible hue. 

It is only that the conditions created by an antagonistic state 
of mind have returned as "chickens come home to roost." 

After proving that despondency or "the blues" comes 
through holding thoughts of evil, and concentrating energy 
upon them, the opposite experiment may be tried. 

Think of some useful, pleasant subject, or person, and say 
everything good that can be thought of it. Laud it to the skies, 
and for as many minutes as possible hold the thought to the 
subject. Then forget the subject and assume the ordinary 
duties of life. In a few hours exuberance will come, and joy 
that will uplift the heart and stimulate the belief that all is 
good. 

All the time people are performing one or both of these 
experiments. The confirmed pessimist has practiced de- 
nouncing, the optimist praising. 

One of the present-day philosophers says, "A man doesn't 
really begin to live until he begins to love with that real love 
which eliminates every element of evil." Which is to say, 



26 THE DOMINANT POWER OF LIFE. 

when one allows the light of love to shine into the soul without 
placing barriers in the way he has at last found his place in the 
true relation to the universe. In thinking thoughts of good- 
ness, of health, of peace and prosperity he becomes allied with 
those elements in both the material and spiritual realm. For, 
as Helen Wilmans says, "The entire universe is one mind of 
which all objects, including man, are varied expressions." And 
as like attracts like in one realm so it does in another." 

"To strive to forget enemies, or to throw out to them only 
friendly thought, is as much an act of self-protection as it is to 
put up your hands to ward off a physical blow. The persistent 
thought of friendliness turns aside ill-will and renders it 
harmless," says Mulford. 

"There," said a boy to whom his mother read the above 
paragraph, "is a better reason for being good and doing good 
than to tell a fellow the devil will get him if he don't do right." 

The instinct of self-preservation, "the first law of nature," 
is appealed to. By constant practice an attitude of friendliness 
becomes a habit. By that it is not meant that one should en- 
dure, then pity, then embrace what is not good, or that one 
should wink at the evil-doings of society. We can be friendly 
to a sinner, but not to the sin ; and can see that sin is a wrong 
expression of life's energies. If possessed of sufficient wisdom 
and skill, we may be able to persuade a sinner to forsake the 
error of his way, by enabling him to see the sooner he changes 
front the less will be the pain and punishment as his share of 
discipline. Very few can philosophically accept pain and pun- 
ishment as the "beneficent friction that turns men back from 
what would otherwise be self-destruction." 

It is most important that natural law be learned, because 
knowledge of its rewards and punishments would save from 
many mistakes. It would change the point of view in the 



THE DOMINANT POWER OF LIFE. 27 

majority of instances, and teach the advantage of coming into 
harmony at an early day. 

The Folly of Fean 

'The truth shall make you free/' says the good book. The 
constant seeking for what is true enables one to approximate 
freedom. But there is one thrall which prevents progress so 
long as individuals allow themselves to remain under it, and 
that is fear. Fear is the greatest foe of all, and it travels like 
an epidemic if conscious thought is not closed against it. 

A bright newspaper woman, in an article contributed to her 
journal about cowardice, said : "There is nothing on earth to be 
afraid of — nothing worth being afraid of — if you face it. 

"A coward is always afraid. Day or night, asleep or awake, 
eating or drinking, afraid, afraid, afraid. Of what? Of his 
own weak, groveling spirit. Of his own shrinking soul. 

"If a man can not depend upon the friend within his own 
soul to help him in time of need, he is indeed friendless." 

And Brother Elbert Hubbard says : "Fear is the rock on 
which we split, and hate is the shoal on which many a barque 
is stranded. When we are fearful the judgment is as unreli- 
able as the compass of a ship whose hold is full of iron ore. 
When we hate we have unshipped the rudder. And if we stop 
to meditate on what gossips say, we have allowed a hawser to 
befoul the screw." 

How can one lift one's self out of the strata of fear ? By re- v 
fusing to receive the thought — by resisting and not recog- 
nizing it. Fill the mind with thoughts of universal goodness. 
"Out in the silent night, under the stars, say to yourself, again 
and yet again, 'I am a part of all my eyes behold.' And the 
feeling will surely come to you that you are no mere interloper 
between earth and sky, but that you are a necessary particle of 
the Whole." — Fra Elbertus. 



28 THE DOMINANT POWER OF LIFE. 

And as a necessary particle of the Whole, rely upon your- 
self to such an extent that what others may think or say will 
not cause a wavering from any noble desire to do or be. Put 
away fear that the power of thought may work in freedom, 
and then by experience and observation learn to distinguish 
what is good from what is not good. "He who will not see 
the truth can not actualize it in his life and surroundings," 
Mrs. Wilmans says. And that finds a parallel thought in the 
words of Samuel Taylor Coleridge : "He who begins by loving 
Christianity better than truth will proceed by loving his own 
sect or church better than Christianity, and in loving himself 
better than all." No limit must be placed upon possibilities. 
We may not always have the same point of view : indeed, if 
there has been mental and spiritual progression, we will not. 
As the scope widens, more and more of the circle of Truth can 
be comprehended. 

The Ideals of Character* 

The natural law of human progress is that we shall grow 
in the direction of our ideals ; the higher the ideals the higher 
the character developed. If resolution is fixed to do the best 
that we know toward any given end, do not care if your man- 
ner of living is not entirely acceptable to the crowd among 
which you move. Undeveloped character may be compared 
to unripe fruit. Both are at last recognized for their true 
worth when unfolded and grown to maturity. 

Mr. J. A. Edgerton is the author of the beautiful poem en- 
titled, "Resolution," from which the following stanzas are 
taken : 

"I will cling unto the highest ; I will struggle toward the right ; 
I will keep my spirit windows ever open to the light ; 



THE DOMINANT POWER OF LIFE. 29 

I will keep my mind anointed with the magic balm of youth ; 
I will keep my footsteps pointed toward the shining hills of 
Truth. 

"I will leave the creeds and dogmas to the pedant and the 
priest ; 
I will seek to do my duty in this present life, at least. 
What am I ? If I should live, or if I die, when I am gone, 
There is nothing lost, or can be, for the Universe moves on. 

"In my spirit is a promise of a sweet Eternity, 
Of a progress onward, upward, through the eons yet to be ; 
I will trust it, well content ; and strive to fill my present place 
As a unit of the Infinite, a factor of the race." 

The purpose of every one in whom spiritual consciousness 
has been quickened should be in accord with the first stanza 
quoted. To keep this spirit window ever open to the light one 
must conceive of infinite light as being immediately without, 
ready to enter when barriers are taken away ; for thought fixes 
things in their relation to individual life. "By our desires we 
relate ourselves to the thing desired," Mr. Post tells us. By 
constantly and persistently desiring, attainment is finally 
reached. But the Universe is Good ; Good is the positive force, 
and as thoughts and actions are in harmony therewith is firm 
ground gained. Browning says, "There never was one lost 
good." 

Mistiness, ignorance that this is the true pathway to higher 
things, may cause the Children of Earth to waver in their 
allegiance to Good ; but once on higher ground, where the mists 
dissolve, desire is singly for the way that leads to happiness. 

A further step in that progress knows no resting-place. Once 
having attained that which was desired, the soul seeks yet other 



30 THE DOMINANT POWER OF LIFE. 

means for perfecting growth. It has been said that a satisfied 
person is not a progressive one. What was an ideal, and 
infinitely desirable at one point of development, will be used 
and discarded, and another and better take its place. This is 
the natural upward path to the rounding out of character. 
Conscious determination to conquer obstacles and acquire ideals 
brings strength for accomplishing. Resist not evil — ignore it, 
and work with a will toward that which is good with the 
might which is in thought, the dominant power of life. 



PARTI. 



CHAPTER III. 




The Temple of the SouL 

'HE body, the dwelling-place of the Ego, is the seat 
of ever-changing activity. Its beauty, strength, and 
all the graces, or lack of them, depend upon devel- 
opment in accordance with natural law, or in trans- 
gression of natural law. First it becomes needful to know 
the way of life; after that it is only necessary to "obey and 
live/' 

There is, within every natural mind, an instinctive dislike 
for whatever is repulsive or shows signs of decay. The same 
inherent reason that causes one to object to rags and tatters 
in the way of clothing causes one to dislike imperfections of 
the body. It is the tendency of human nature to seek the rela- 
tively perfect. 

Beauty Acquired by Self - Culture* 
With a little care each day most of the imperfections of the 
body can be improved or overcome. Beauty and strength of 
body are acquired by attention to physical needs, just as beauty 
and strength are added to the intellect — by taking thought. 
Added to that is the more powerful power of the mind to pre- 
serve and rejuvenate the body. 

Says a well-known writer: "You, and generations before 
you, age after age, have been told it was an inevitable necessity 
— that it was the law and in the order of nature for all times 
and for all ages — that, after a certain period of life, your body 
must wither and become unattractive, and that even your 
minds must fail with increasing years. You have been told 

31 



32 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

that your mind had no power to repair and recuperate your 
body. * * * 

"It is no more in the inevitable order of nature that human 
bodies should decay as they have decayed in the past than that 
man should travel by stage-coach as he did years ago ; or that 
messages should be sent only by letter as before the use of the 
telegraph, or that your portrait could be made only by the 
painter's brush as before the discovery that the sun could print 
an image of yourself on a sensitive surface prepared for the 
purpose. * * * 

"If you make a plan in thought, in unseen element, for your- 
self as helpless and decrepit, such plan will draw to you un- 
seen thought-element that will make you weak, helpless and 
decrepit. * * * 

"If in your mind you are ever building an ideal of yourself 
as strong, healthy and vigorous, you are building to yourself 
of invisible element that which is ever drawing to you more 
health, strength and vigor. * * * 

"Persistency in thinking health, in imagining or idealizing 
yourself as healthy, vigorous and symmetrical, is the corner- 
stone of health and beauty. Of that which you think most, that 
you will be and that will you have most of." 

This thought is not essentially new when it is remembered 
that Shakespeare was continually bringing the idea forth in 
varieties of dress. "There is nothing either good or bad but 
thinking makes it so," he tells us. But humanity has had 
to be developed to understand thoughts uttered by master- 
minds that grasped the truth. 

The Inner and the Outer Life* 

"Outer life must correspond to inner life, else law and se- 
quence would be at fault, and the chain which binds cause and 





A MESSENQER OF LOVE— N. Sichel. 



WSB9BKM 




THE HEART'S AWAKENING— W. A. Bouguereau; 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 33 

effect be severed." So let us place ourselves in harmony with 
the natural tendencies to beautify, and thereby align ourselves 
with the beneficence of all Natural Law. There are many 
means for adding to external beauty, but only that is real and 
lasting which is made by an inner life which acknowledges and 
demonstrates that "All is Good" — that what are known as evils 
are no more a part of Natural Law than barnacles are a part 
of the ship to which they become attached. That one can and 
should live above fear and strife for the best development of 
form, feature and character. 

The author of "The Woman Beautiful" says: "There's 
nothing that will make a stolid, bovine face like a brain that 
isn't made to get up and hustle. * * * Study is mental 
development, and mental development usually means a bright, 
pleasing expression." 

Where are the girls or adult women who care only for a 
doll's beautiful, expressionless countenance ? They are not to be 
numbered among those whose minds are not infantile. Yet 
they who possess the secret of lasting beauty are too few. 

Madame Yale, the beauty specialist, says of the facial expres- 
sion : "Our feelings are portrayed very accurately on the sur- 
face of the face and are telegraphed silently to all who behold 
it. Consequently there is no way of disguising the real cause 
of a bad expression." 

There may be lotions for the complexion, tonics and brush- 
ings for the hair, care for the hands, etc., but unless the inner 
woman be under cultivation also, the veneer will not avail for 
long. 

If one should be under a hereditary cloud of ill-nature so 
that it is not natural to look for the bright side, it can be dis- 
persed by cultivating cheerfulness and amiability until the 
habit becomes established. To this end it will be of great as- 



34 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

sistance to practice Mrs. Talbot's Joy J^esson; which is to go 
to your room and lock the door, sit down by your reading- 
table, or dressing-table, and repeat the word Joy aloud. It will 
assist mental concentration on the thoughts of Joy, Peace and 
Love to tap with a pencil on the table as the word, or words, 
are repeated. Exclude all other thoughts ; and, after the mind 
becomes fixed strongly enough to attract the thought-element 
of gladness, ill-nature, or "the blues," will be banished as 
darkness fades before an influx of light. 

A writer to Freedom says : "While the principle of Life and 
Love exists we must claim its living reality in act, and in fea- 
ture, and its expression is Gladness. 

"Glad of what? Of everything. If you sweep crossings put 
your soul into your work while you sweep. Make clean your 
corner of the earth. The joy of any kind of work is in doing 
it as well as can be done. Try it and see how the act of concen- 
trating your attention upon what you are doing will deliver 
you from feeling that it is wearing or beneath you or any- 
thing that you don't want it to be. 

"Remember it is not the kind of work you are doing that 
will elevate or lower you in the evolution of the race. It is the 
attention that you give it that is helping to organize your men- 
tal faculties and lift you into a clearer consciousness." 

Unhappiness, moroseness, sourness of disposition result from 
an unnatural bias of the mind. When a point of view makes 
one unhappy it is a wrong point. There may be checks, dis- 
appointments and even defeat, but if viewed from the right 
point they contain the germs of recompense. It is not that the 
problems of life have no true explanation when the sky of one's 
life is overcast, but that the exact place from which the skein 
can be raveled has not been reached. This is the way the 
master-mind of Emerson stated it : "Cause and effect, means 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 35 

and ends, seeds and fruit can not be severed ; for the effect al- 
ready blooms in the cause, the end pre-exists in the means, the 
fruit in the seed. The changes which break up at short intervals 
the prosperity of men are advertisements of a nature whose law 
is growth." 

The Power of Habit* 

Man is but a bundle of acquired habits, says an ancient 
proverb. This is only true so long as life is allowed to flow in 
the channel of the least resistance. When it is discovered that 
any habit contains the germs of mistake which will bring a har- 
vest of mental and physical suffering, the human being who 
would continue the habit is not a well-developed specimen of 
the species. 

Youth is the habit-forming period, and, of course, may be 
saved disciplinary suffering if proper habits are instilled into the 
growing intelligence. At the same time the idea of the power 
of a positive mental attitude should be made known. Wrong 
habits may be crowded out by the substitution of proper habits 
in a positive mind. Submission to wrong habit acknowledges 
a weakness of mind. Youth needs that guidance from wisdom 
and experience which- will enable it to control the life-forces 
which flow through each particular organism. This assistance 
is best given by turning toward the developing young the potent 
power of thought, in which is positive recognition of inherent 
good. It adds just so much to the native strength of the youth, 
and so helps him to rise "by things that are under his feet." 
Holland's verse says : 

"We rise by things that are under our feet ; 

By what we have mastered of good and gain ; 
By the pride deposed and the passion slain, 
And the vanquished ills that we hourly meet." 



36 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

The parent of all mischief is idleness. There is no point in 
the career of life where one can afford to be idle. Activity is 
the natural means for growth. If, in youth, the right means 
for the expression of vital force are not provided and directed, 
it must follow that the wrong means will be used, for life is 
expression. 

Each person, young or old, lives up to his or her ideas of 
happiness, according to the energy of the directing power, the 
will. It may be these ideals are contrary to the Law of hap- 
piness ; if so, they will fail to realize happiness. The spirit of 
altruism should prompt every one to recognize the spark of di- 
vinity in his fellow-creature, and endeavor to help it to mature. 
Refuse to look at the wrong expressions of life, called sin, and 
direct toward the needy thoughts of good. Man, or woman, is 
not an isolated creature ; the family is not an isolated creation ; 
they are parts of the social organism, and rise toward happiness 
the more swiftly by endeavoring to elevate all. 

Julian Hawthorne thus summarizes an article on the one- 
ness of humanity : 

"Philosophy discovers that mankind is one, and civilization 
confirms the revelation. 

"First comes the self-consciousness of the individual, then of 
the family; afterward successively of the nation and the race. 
Humanity, begotten an unself-conscious unit, was splintered 
into fractions by self-consciousness ; and history shows us how 
it voluntarily recombines till it becomes a unit once more, every 
atom conscious of the whole, and the whole feeling through its 
component parts." 

"No man liveth to himself alone." 

Each one of us must hold himself a part of all we see, and 
by learning the higher laws overcome the lower. No time 
should be spent in repining : see mistakes and rise above them. 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 37 

As our prophet of the morning said to a daughter, "Finish 
every day and be done with it. You have done what you 
could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in ; for- 
get them as soon as you can. Tomorrow will be a new day : 
begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cum- 
bered with your old nonsense. This day is all that is good and 
fair. It is too dear with its hopes and invitations to waste a 
moment on the yesterdays. ,, 

So much for beautifying by means of self-culture. 

Beauty of Body and Beauty of SouL 

If beautifying the character reacts on the exterior, it is also 
true that care for the body has a beneficial reaction upon the 
intellect. The body is the house in which we live : it may be 
either the temple or the prison of the soul. Each person must 
look to the sanitation and beautifyingof his soul dwelling-place, 
or, like the material abodes, it may become foul, unhealthy and 
unfit as an abiding-place. The body is also the medium through 
which the Ego receives education. If care is not given to keep 
the delicate machine harmoniously working, advantages other- 
wise obtainable through health are closed. 

The Needs of the Body* 

A healthy mind in a healthy body was the Grecian ideal, 
which, so long as that ideal adhered, caused Greece to lead the 
world. But Greece had not fully discovered the Law. She 
worked from the outside, whereas the Law means first the 
healthy mind. "In proportion as mind becomes pure and 
wholesome, habitations and environment are transformed as 
a resultant correspondence. ,, The transformations result from 
mental culture. 



38 THE TEM'PLE OF THE SOUL. 

Let us consider the needs of the body under the heads of : 

Breathing, Dress, Rest, 

Diet, Work, Special Exercises. 

Bathing, Recreation, 

Breath is the first need of independent life. The babe's 
first cry which gladdens the mother's heart is his earliest phys- 
ical need for the air which shall be one of the chief sustainers of 
the life upon which he has entered. Throughout his earthly 
apprenticeship health, strength and the power of endurance de- 
pend mainly upon the breathing capacity. 

BREATHING. 

The physiologist Cutter describes the lungs as being "two in 
number, and occupy completely and accurately the pleural cham- 
bers of the thorax. Each lung is free in all directions, except 
at the root, which chiefly consists of the bronchi, arteries and 
veins connecting the lung with the trachea and heart. The- 
lungs are spongy, porous organs, the tissues of which are very 
elastic. 

"Each lung is of a conical shape, the apexes of which are 
blunt and project into the neck from an inch to an inch and a 
half above the first rib. The base is broad and concave, and 
rests on the diaphragm. Each lung is divided by a deep fissure 
into upper and lower lobes. The upper lobe on the right side is 
imperfectly divided into two lobes, making three in the right 
and two in the left lung. The lobes are made of many closely 
packed lobules. Each lobule is composed of the terminal 
branch of an air-tube, possessing a cluster of air-cells. In the 
fine interstitial areolar tissue of the lobule ramify the pulmo- 
nary vessels, the nutrient vessels, the lymphatics and the 
nerves. ,, 

Respiration introduces oxygen, a food, into the lungs, and 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 39 

by the diffusion of gases leaves some of it with the old air in the 
lobules and carries away carbonic acid gas — waste and poi- 
sonous product. The diffusion, or mixing, of gases is of the 
greatest importance in the economy of nature; accumulation of 
poisonous gases is thus prevented, and the interchange of 
gases made possible, in organisms provided with lungs. 

Oxygen is the most abundant and the most important of all 
the elements. Through the process of osmosis, or the diffusion 
through a membrance, the blood attracts oxygen and gives up 
carbonic acid gas. Almost all of the chemical changes in the 
body are between the oxygen of the air and the carbon and hy- 
drogen of the food. When deprived of pure air the body is 
injured as much as when deprived of pure food — though in a 
different manner. 

There are two principal ways in which the body is deprived 
of needed oxygen : by lack of ventilation in the dwelling, and 
by tight clothing, which prevents elasticity of the trunk and 
chest. Both are very common violations of the law which 
makes breathing necessary to life. 

The Need of Fresh Air. 

The body needs, in pounds, three times as much air as it does 
food and drink combined ; yet so accustomed are people to eat 
and drink, and to breathe scantily, that the body is filled with 
disease and impurity. Morbid lungs mean morbid conditions 
in every function of the body. 

Ventilation is the process of keeping a standard of purity in 
occupied rooms, notwithstanding constant vitiation from res- 
piration and combustion through lighting and heating agencies. 
The changes by ventilation are partly through the diffusion of 
gases and partly by actual currents of air. Rooms must be pro- 
vided with an inlet for pure air and an outlet for vitiated air. 



40 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

The sleeping-room, in especial, should receive the necessary 
ventilation. Except in cases of heavy wind, excessive damp, 
or storm, the sleeping-room windows should never be closed. 

One-third of life is usually passed in sleep for the recupera- 
tion of powers for use and development in the other two-thirds. 
During sleep the body becomes unconscious of surrounding 
dangers, among the worst of which is vitiated air. There are 
no sleeping-rooms large enough to accommodate enough pure 
air to suffice one person's needs through the night. The inter- 
mixture cf the pure air in the room with the exhalations from 
the lungs makes the stored-up air less and less pure with each 
breath. 

In the temperate zone the forces of nature are efficient in 
changing the air in summer. Damages to the body are com- 
mon in winter for lack of attention to this very necessary pro- 
vision. Windows and doors are provided with "weather- 
strips" to "keep out the cold;" doors are closed as quickly as 
possible; windows never opened. In such houses the dispenser 
of drugs and medicines finds steady patronage, and the patients 
are always complaining that they can find "nothing that will 
help" them. There isn't anything to take the place of common 
sense, which teaches that unless there is abundance of pure air, 
pure water, pure food and plenty of sunshine normal health can 
not be maintained. The pioneer forefathers had abundance of 
pure air and sunshine, which largely made up for what was 
lacking in other ways. Had they not overtaxed themselves 
with muscular exertion and their wives with excessive child- 
bearing as well as labor, their descendants would not be the 
puny things they are. 

The best recognized method for the ventilation of houses — 
sleeping-rooms particularly — is by means of the open fire. The 
upward current provided thereby draws away the vitiated air. 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 41 

It is necessary, however, that the supply of pure air come from 
without, the best place being from the lower part of an opened 
window. The Encyclopedia Britannica makes the following 
note on this subject : 

"The absence of proper inlets for air in a house where sev- 
eral fires are burning involves a danger that is much more seri- 
ous than other effects of bad ventilation. When the air which 
is required to' take the place of that discharged by the chimneys 
can only struggle in through small openings, the pressure 
within the house falls considerably below that of the outer air, 
the water-traps under basins and closets are liable to be forced, 
and foul air is drawn in from every leak in soil-pipe or drain. 
The writer has found a house drawing what seemed to be its 
main supply of 'fresh' air from the public sewer, through a de- 
fective joint between the soil-pipe and the (untrapped) house- 
drain. 

"To preserve the lowest standard of purity tolerated by sani- 
tarians, ventilation must go on at the rate per person of 1,000 
cubic feet per hour, and 3,000 cubic feet per hour are required 
to preserve the higher standard on which some authorities in- 
sist. Parkes advises a supply of 2,000 cubic feet per hour for 
persons in health, and 3,000 or 4,000 cubic feet per hour for 
sick persons. ,, 

Ventilation should be accomplished without creating too 
great a fall of temperature. Living-rooms should not be kept 
too warm, so that the lungs experience too great a change when 
in the open air, as every person should be for a part of each day. 
American homes are commonly super-heated. 

There should be no damper, if a stove is used, in sleeping- or 
sitting-rooms, so that the products of combustion may pass 
freely out at the chimney. Vessels containing water should be 
placed near the fire on a heating-stove to preserve a good de- 



42 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

gree of moisture in the room. Cook-stoves should be provided 
with a hood built so as to project over the stove, for the purpose 
of conveying away vapors that arise from cooking. Especially 
in winter are the vapors confined if an outlet is not provided, 
so that the occupant of the culinary department is subjected to 
a steaming not intended for herself. Attacks of chill are thus 
very easily incurred. 

The Deadly Corset, 

In addition to poor ventilation a large percentage of the 
female half of civilization have the trunk of the body ligatured 
so tightly that a full, deep breath is an impossibility. 

The corset is an inheritance from the past for which we are 
not grateful. Its aim is directed toward securing slenderness 
and shapeliness of the human figure, but which falls short, in 
every direction, of attaining any beneficial result. The custom 
of wearing this garment has created a model that few women 
have strength of mind enough not to follow, although it is 
immeasurably better to follow good principles than bad fash- 
ions. To be able to have a healthy body in which full breathing 
is practicable there must be no restriction to muscular action 
from neck to toe. There must be perfect freedom to have per- 
fect development. 

In the human body the bony frame-work of the ribs furnishes 
protection to the upper chest, or corset suicides would be more 
numerous. As it is, the floating ribs are cramped and dis- 
torted, displacing the internal organs. In the economy of the 
body each organ has its own place as well as its own function ; 
there are no cavities or vacant spaces.* Altogether they furnish 
the machinery by which life is expressed. Nor can one be dis- 
placed, or its use set at naught, without overtaxing and injuring 
other organs of the system. That the lower part of the body 
was not provided with a bony frame-work must mean that the 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 43 

organs contained therein should have unrestricted action. All 
the needed support to the abdominal viscera is furnished by the 
small ligamentous band which suspends each organ, and by 
the abdominal wall, which is composed of three layers of 
muscles. 

Suppose an arm or a leg should, from puberty, be subjected 
to constant pressure during the day. Would not that member 
in time become comparatively useless? Yet the digestive, re- 
spiratory and part of the circulatory systems are compressed 
and hindered until good health is impossible. 

Commiseration for sins against the moral law is very scant. 
Every person who transgresses is considered worthy to receive 
the punishment which follows in the wake. Transgressions 
against the physical are as inevitable and as just. Old Dr. 
Johnson hit the truth when he said, "Every sick man is a ras- 
cal," though the rascality may consist only in self-injury. 
Women are "the weaker sex" because they have made them- 
selves so, the violations of physical law reflecting in the mental 
and spiritual realm. Miss Willard said this : "Niggardly 
waists and niggardly brains go together. The emancipation 
of one will keep place with the other ; a ligature at the smallest 
diameter of the womanly figure means an impoverished blood 
supply in the brain, and may explain why women scream when 
they see a mouse." In her life-time Miss Willard was one of 
the true students of cause and effect. 

Dr. Ellis says : "The practice of tight lacing has done more 
within the last century toward the physical deterioration of 
civilized man than have war, pestilence and famine combined." 

Dr. Foote says : "Tight lacing is a practice more destruc- 
tive to health and longevity than tobacco-chewing, liquor-drink- 
ing or pork-eating." 



"2 

"3 
"4 



44 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

The German physiologist Somering enumerates ninety-two 
diseases resulting from corset-wearing. 

Madame Yale gives the following list of the corset's crimes 
against beauty : 

"i. Stiff, inflexible waists, with a coarsely exaggerated con- 
tour in place of slight and subtle curves. 
Sickly, sallow complexion. 
Pale, thin, compressed lips. 
Red noses. 

Lack of buoyancy, general feebleness, lassitude, apathy 
and stupidity. 

"6. Distorted features. 
"7. Soured tempers. 
"8. Wrinkles. 
"9. Lusterless eyes. 
"10. Ugly shoulders. 
"11. Ugly bust. 

"12. Clumsiness. (Corsets render any woman more or less 
inelegant and ungraceful in her movements. Her imprisoned 
waist, with its flabby unused muscles, has no chance of per- 
forming beautiful undulating movements.) 

"For the corset as a bust support there are now any number 
of better substitutes. But women should distrust any kind of 
a 'support' which antagonizes the foundation principle of phys- 
ical development, viz., the perfect muscular possession of the 
body." 

Dr: Richardson says : "If tomorrow women were placed in 
all respects on an equality with men they would remain subject 
to superior mental and physical force so long as they crippled 
their physical, vital and mental constitution by this one practice 
of cultivating, under an atrocious view of what is beautiful, a 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 45 

form of body which reduces physical power and thereby dead- 
ens mental capacity." 

Dr. Kitchen says : "The whole civilized world is in bondage 
to a pernicious habit of dress — practiced by women and coun- 
tenanced by men — that threatens the abrogation of the dia- 
phragm. Were it not for the nightly recesses which the dia- 
phragm receives from the constricting pressure of the tight 
waist, it would soon atrophy, and life to the corset-wearer 
would be a very brief span." 

Again the same author says : "The corset on a child is slow 
murder of the child, and if she be of a phthisical or consumptive 
tendency it is not so very slow murder either. * * Every 
woman who has grown up in a corset, no matter how loosely 
worn, is deformed." 

Quotations and argument against this vain and foolish gar- 
ment might be indefinitely prolonged. The devotee of fashion, 
rather than be a follower of natural law, will continue violations 
unless pain and suffering call a halt. Perhaps when ordered 
by her physician to lay aside the corset she may begin to imbibe 
ideas relating to habit and health. Growth is from within. 
"The first indication that a woman's mind and soul are expand- 
ing is when she lays aside her corset." While she adheres to it 
she is impaired as a human being, emasculate as a representative 
of her sex. In her the creature without power to love is found ; 
in her are found wanting the elements necessary to make an 
equal factor in the human race with man. The woman who 
begins the day by putting on a corset with her morning gown 
for fear of being called untidy, and for the same reason con- 
tinues wearing it through the day, is she who is ungenerous, 
illiberal, fault-finding. If her views of life were large and true 
she could not be so unkind to her own body as to hinder its 
most vital processes. 



46 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

Women's environment and heritage from the past have 
largely made them dependent upon men. Consequently when 
the understanding of man is great enough to make him a prac- 
tical enemy of the corset it will be put aside. As Ella Wheeler 
Wilcox says : 

"All we have done, wise or otherwise, 
Traced to the root, was done for love of you." 

Girls at home, longing for a moment's personal comfort, 
lay aside the corset, and are met with reproach or ridicule from 
brother or father for being "slouchy." Wives often receive the 
same remarks. Both the use and reception of those ideas are 
based upon ignorance. A woman sure of the righteousness of 
her cause can expound to the male relative the virtues of not 
wearing the corset. But she should not, and need not, be 
slouchy. A man conversant with natural law can do much to 
enable a beloved one to see the right. Or at the extreme, he can 
improve by the recommendation of a writer to Physical Cul- 
ture, who says : "The writer does not expect to reform women. 
He wants to reform men — desires them to see clearly the neces- 
sity of marrying women — not sexless nonentities; by this 
means the reform of women will the sooner be accomplished." 

Gerald Massey said : "No woman has any right to marry 
anything less than a man. 

"No woman has any right to marry any man who will sow 
the seeds of disease in her darlings ; no, not for all the money 
in the world." 

What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. No 
man in whom is the true spirit of manliness will marry a corset- 
wearer. He has the right to demand a reform before marriage ; 
and he must assist all in his power to aid to mental growth 
so that the garment which does so much to undermine health 
will never be assumed again. 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 47 

The habit of corset-wearing may be likened to the drink 
habit in men. Equal damage is done to the soul and body of 
the slave, and an equal heritage of mental and physical weak- 
ness is bequeathed to posterity. 

The proportionate figure should have a waist measurement 
equal to two-fifths the height ; the weight should be as follows : 

4 feet 10 inches ; . . . . ioo pounds 

5 feet o inches no pounds 

5 feet i inch 115 pounds 

5 feet 2 inches 120 pounds 

5 feet 3 inches 125 pounds 

5 feet 4 inches 130 pounds 

5 feet 5 inches . 135 pounds 

5 feet 6 inches 140 pounds 

5 feet 7 inches 146 pounds 

5 feet 8 inches 153 pounds 

5 feet 9 inches 161 pounds 

5 feet 10 inches 170 pounds 

5 feet n inches 180 pounds 

6 feet o inches 191 pounds 

Clothing that in any way hampers the body must be laid 
aside for other garments that allow freedom. Deep breathing 
can and should be consciously cultivated; for the integrity of 
health largely depends on aeration of the blood. Mrs. Le 
Favre says: "When it is understood that there are upward 
of a hundred million air-cells in the lungs and that each and 
every cell is intended for use, we get a notion of the tremendous 
importance of Lung Culture." "Remember that it is not more 
fat nor harder muscle that is to save the world from consump- 
tion, but larger and more mobile chest walls and the ability 
to keep the entire lungs actively engaged." 



48 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

In all movement the chest should lead ; the abdomen be well 
drawn in ; the vital organs raised. 

If mankind were stationary improvement would be impos- 
sible. For the fact that we are not we should be duly grateful. 
The female figure and female health can be improved, after 
years of disobedience to natural law, by facing about and fol- 
lowing the right path. As onward she may press toward 
physical and spiritual perfection any woman will win strength 
according to her needs. 

DIET. 

In diet no specific regulations can be given that will apply 
in all cases. Each individual must decide for himself as to 
that which best nourishes. Dr. Charles H. Shepard says : "It 
is what we eat and drink that makes or mars our condition. 
If we partake only of the pure we shall be clean and pure 
throughout. If, on the contrary, we attempt to build up with 
gross material it will result in uncleanliness, disease and 
death." 

A Japanese proverb says that it is not what we eat but what 
we digest that builds up the body. Food may contain many 
elements of nourishment, but if not acceptable to one's indi- 
vidual powers of digestion and assimilation, to him it is the 
same as if no nutrition was contained therein. 

Humankind is largely governed by the sense of taste. In 
one part of the globe the food used may be revolting to inhabi- 
tants of another. Dr. Foote says: "John Chinaman feasts on 
cats, dogs, wharf rats, sea slugs, sharks, bats, and caterpillar 
soup. Australians and many other people eat snakes, kanga- 
roo-rats, mice, maggots, etc. The Japanese prefer green 
peaches, apricots and plums to ripe ones, as an offset, I sup- 
pose, to our eating green cucumbers. One who visits Africa 
may have a plate of tender young monkey; while the people 






THE RETURN FROM THE BALL— L. E. Fournier. 





BASHFUL LOVE— A. H. Bramtot. 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 49 

of the Arctics treat their visitors to a diet of putrid seal's 
flesh, putrid whale's tail, reindeer's chyle, and partially hatched 

It would be hard to find anything of either the animal or 
vegetable worlds without some nourishing properties as food. 
If the sense of taste were not largely perverted it could be 
trusted to select food for the system; but in early life, before 
any of the powers are ready to discriminate, all manner and 
conditions of food are given until digestion is deranged and 
taste is made abnormal. Often, it is true, depraved taste is 
inherited,' but more often it is cultivated. Few mothers realize 
the need for feeding infants regularly. Every expression of 
pain or discomfort is met with proffers of food, until the 
sense of taste becomes the ruling propensity during childhood, 
and often through life. Pleasing the sense of taste is the open 
door to pleasing other bodily senses ; and as the body lives by 
that upon which it feeds, whole trains of evils are engendered 
by abnormal taste. 

Dear Froebel, lover of children and of humanity, said: 
"Always let the food be simply for nourishment, never more, 
never less. Never should the food be taken for its own sake, 
but for the sake of promoting bodily and mental activity. Still 
less should the peculiarities of food, its taste as a delicacy, ever 
become an object in themselves, but only a means to make it 
good, pure, wholesome nourishment; else in both cases the 
food destroys health. Let the food of the little child be as 
simple as the circumstances in which the child lives can afford, 
and let it be given in proportion to his bodily and mental 
activity." 

Simplicity and Moderation* 

A general rule for application to dietetics is simplicity. The 
craving for hot spices, fermented drinks, fetid cheese, all highly 



50 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

seasoned epicurean delights, is acquired artificially. Whenever 
possible the young should be taught that simplicity in eating 
means mental and bodily strength. "Frugality has cured dis- 
eases that defied all other remedies," Dr. Felix Oswald tells 
us. "For thousands of reformed gluttons it has made life 
worth living after the shadows of misery already threatened 
to darken the gloom of approaching night. Luigi Cornaro, a 
Venetian nobleman of the sixteenth century, had impaired his 
health by gastronomic excesses till his physicians despaired 
of his life. As a last resort he resolved to try a complete 
change of diet. His father, his uncles and two of his brothers 
had all died before the attainment of their fiftieth year; but 
Luigi determined to try conclusions with the demon of un- 
naturalism, and at once reduced his daily allowance of meat 
to one-tenth of the usual quantity, and his wine to a stint 
barely sufficient to flavor a cup of Venetian cistern water. 
After a month of his new regimen he regained his appetite. 
After ten weeks he found himself able to take long walks 
without fatigue and could sleep without being awakened by 
nightmare horrors. At the end of a year all the symptoms of 
chronic indigestion had left him and he resolved to make the 
plan of his cure the rule of his life. That life was prolonged 
to a century — forty years of racking disease followed by sixty 
years of unbroken health, undimmed clearness of mind, un- 
clouded content. Habitual abstinence from unnatural food and 
drink saves the trials of constant self-control and the alterna- 
tive pangs of repentance." 

The Secret of Long: Life. 

In the eighty-sixth year of his life Luigi Cornaro wrote 
a treatise on "The Way of Attaining a Long and Healthful 
Life," in which he said: "I was born very choleric and hasty; 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 51 

I flew into a passion for the least trifle; I huffed all mankind, 
and was so intolerable that a great many persons of repute 
avoided my company. I apprehended the injury which 
I did myself; I knew that anger is a real frenzy; that 
it disturbs our judgment; that it transports us be- 
yond ourselves, and that the difference between a passionate 
and a mad man is only this, that the latter has lost his reason 
forever and the former is only deprived of it by fits. A sober 
life cured me of this frenzy; by its assistance I became so 
moderate and so much a master of my passion that nobody 
could perceive that it was born with me. 

"A man may likewise with reason and a regular life correct 
a bad constitution, and, notwithstanding the tenderness thereof, 
may live a long time in good health. I should never have 
seen forty years had I followed all my inclinations, and yet I 
am in the eighty-sixth year of my age. If the long and dan- 
gerous distempers which I had in my youth had not consumed 
a great deal of the radial moisture the loss of which is irre- 
parable, I might have promised myself to have lived a complete 
century. But without flattering myself I find it to be a great 
matter to have arrived to forty-six years more than I ever 
expected, and that in my old age my constitution is still so good 
that not only my teeth, my voice, my memory and my heart 
are in as good a condition as ever they were in the briskest 
days of my youth, but likewise my judgment has lost nothing 
of its clearness and force. 

"I am of the opinion that this proceeds from the abridg- 
ment I make of my food." 

Abuses of the digestive powers have contributed more than 
other causes to human degeneration. When those lose tone 
or vigor the body must depend on the breathing powers more 
heavily. But oxygen must needs have material upon which 



52 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

to operate, and it is only through the digestive system the 
supply can come. 

Those guilty of the sin of overeating fill the blood with 
more material than can properly be aerated, and thus create 
disease. Then the digestive apparatus weakens. 

Dn Salisbury's System* 

Dr. Salisbury some years ago originated a very valuable 
system of treating disease by giving the system just as little 
food as would preserve vitality. Mrs. Stuart, an English lady, 
elaborated the system, and has been very successful in curing 
disease of long standing. The treatment consists of the 
stomach bath first. An hour and a half before meals as much 
hot water is taken as can be relished, but which should not be 
less than a pint. This washes away any impurity and gives 
the walls of the stomach the tonic action of water. For the 
meal nothing is to be taken but minced lean beef, as being the 
easiest of digestion. One is not limited as to quantity, or as to 
ways of preparing it, except that salt and pepper and a little 
butter are to be the only seasoning. Before breakfast, dinner, 
supper and retiring the hot water is to be used. 

For any disease resulting from bad digestive powers, such 
as dyspepsia, chronic diarrhea, constipation, leanness, obesity, 
etc., the system is admirable. One will feel weak for a few 
days, as the drunkard whose cups are withheld, but persistence 
for forty-eight hours makes cure sure and almost easy. 

Proper Combinations of Food. 

As to the combinations of foods for the rule of life, there 
should be but few varieties at one meal. The chemical activi- 
ties necessary for digesting a great variety are so widely differ- 
ent the system is apt to be overtaxed. Simplicity should rule. 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 53 

Foods should be solid. The agents in digestion are fluid, and 
when fluids are taken with the meals, these are diluted, and 
consequently delay in digestion results. During the delay fer- 
mentation sets in and renders much that might be assimilated 
unfit for use. Cooked food and raw food generally do not 
combine well. 

"Health Culture" says : "Fresh fruits all combine well with 
one another. As a rule fruits, fresh or cooked, combine well 
with bread or cooked cereals and with nuts or nut foods. 
Fruits do not as a rule combine well with cooked vegetables, 
nor with milk, cream, cheese, eggs or meat." 

As to the use of a mixed diet of animal and vegetable foods, 
every one has a choice. Vegetarian people argue a beautiful, 
clean doctrine, but one is never ready for an experiment until 
fully convinced of its virtues. A few rules for guidance may 
be summed up as follows : 

Do not overeat. 

Do not take liquids at meals. 

Do not partake of a variety. 

Masticate thoroughly. 

Never take food unless hungry. 

Be cheerful during meal-time. Cheerfulness aids digestion. 

Under the old-time severe church rule all recreation was 
suppressed over Sunday, the day the toilers had for rest. 
Consequently dietetic excesses became prevalent. Sunday be- 
came a day of good dinners and unlimited drinking. New 
England and much of the rest of the United States spend 
weary hours Saturday to provide gustatory delights for the 
Sabbath. It is the rest-day diversion and mother of many ills. 



54 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

THE BATH. 

Bathing is very necessary for the preservation of health. 
The processes of nutrition and waste, to be kept normal, need 
that waste be regularly removed. Generally used, the term 
bath refers to treatment given the skin and hair. The skin is 
one of four means the body has for eliminating impurity ; the 
others are the lungs, kidneys, and lower bowel. For the pur- 
pose of elimination and also for regulating bodily temperature, 
the skin is provided with two and a quarter millions of little 
glands. The external openings are called the pores of the 
skin. These glands are situated in the connective tissue be- 
neath the skin, in the shape of a coil ; on the outside of the coil 
is a network of capillaries from which perspiration is derived. 
It is estimated that there are not far from three thousand of 
these glands to the square inch, and that they eliminate from 
one to five pounds of fluid in twenty-four hours. The fluid 
evaporates or is absorbed by the clothing; the solid impurity 
remains at the surface. The bath removes this impurity. If 
the bath is neglected the impurity becomes rancid, and more 
or less of it is re-absorbed into the body to create disease. 
Besides the impurity left through perspiration there are also 
the scales of dead scarf-skin and the oily matter which is 
secreted to preserve the texture of the skin. None can with im- 
punity neglect the removal of all of this waste. 

For a person in health there should be a daily sponge 
bath, supplemented twice a week by a full warm bath with 
plenty of soap. This will keep the glands of the skin in activ- 
ity. The bath should never be taken where the temperature is 
lower than 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Chill must be avoided. 
Be brisk and keep the blood vigorously circulating ; use plenty 
of friction when drying the body. There should be a glow on 
the surface when done, to show there has been a good reaction. 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 55 

Various Kinds of Baths* 

In delicate health, or disease, there are a variety of baths 
which are invaluable to restore health. 

The vapor bath is excellent for colds, catarrh, pleurisy, fever, 
and affections of the bowels, kidneys or skin. The perspiratory 
glands are excited to unusual activity and bear out, at least in 
part, the morbific matter. There are many cabinets on the 
market for hot-air and vapor baths, but a home-made apparatus 
answers quite well. This consists of an alcohol lamp over 
which is placed a small vessel containing water. When the 
water boils place a cane-seat chair over the lamp, and seat the 
patient therein, clad only "in her complexion" ; wrap blankets 
about the chair and patient very closely. A footbath may be 
used in connection herewith; let the patient place her feet in 
a bath hot as can be borne, and enclose with the blankets. After 
some moments of free perspiration a dry cover should be sub- 
stituted and the patient lie in bed wrapped about closely. 
When cooled enough, she may have a dry rub and resume her 
garments. 

The hot-air bath is taken much as the vapor bath. Use 
the alcohol lamp without the vessel of water; let the patient 
drink freely of hot water. Cold may be used, but is not best. 
After several minutes of free perspiration the body should be 
thoroughly shampooed with soap and water and dried. This 
is excellent for gout, rheumatism, skin diseases, colds, etc. 

Where there is fever or inflammation in any one part, the 
circulation may be equalized by a hot foot-bath; as in head- 
aches, bronchitis, or inward fever. 

The sitz bath is arranged for bathing the hips and abdomen. 
It may be tepid or hot, as the case requires. During pregnancy 
the tepid sitz bath is invaluable, used daily for the last few 
weeks; during labor the pains are made easier and more 



/ 



56 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

natural by the hot sitz bath. It is good in case of bladder, 
rectal or kidney disorders. 

Sulphur, salt, or other mineral baths are to be had by adding 
any such to the water used. 

Do not bathe within two hours after eating. 

Do not bathe when exhausted. 

Avoid chill after bathing. 

Use mild soap, so as not to irritate the skin. 

Never bathe in a cold room unless very vigorous in health. 



PART L 




CHAPTER IV. 
The Temple of the Soul — Continued, 

ATER for use internally is as much needed as 
water for external use. Every adult, or at least 
every family, should have a fountain syringe, 
^-^ which should be used two or three times a week 
with regularity. The lower bowel is not merely the recep- 
tacle for the refuse of food matter; it also is provided with 
absorbents, which convey away whatever is possible from 
the colon, leaving hard, impacted masses to be passed away. 
Patients with stomach trouble have been nourished by food 
injected into the colon. 

The Internal Bath* 

It has generally been considered sufficient if there is one 
passage daily from the bowels. This is true only so far as 
that one bath weekly is sufficient for the external body. But 
suppose any chronic disease has taken hold ; it is then the bath 
external and internal becomes a wonderful restorative agent. 

The benefits of cleansing the stomach and lower bowel by 
means of hot water are manifold. The stomach bath washes 
away any mucus or undigested food and prepares the way for 
a fresh food supply. It should be used an hour to an hour and 
a half before meals, to give the gastric glands time for accumu- 
lation of their juice. The impurity thus washed away is 
carried into the colon and discharged. 

Flushing the colon consists of the use of a quantity of hot 
water by means of the syringe. Dr. Forrest says : "The ben- 

57 



58 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

efits of the flushings are not due to the cleansing of the canal 
alone. Indeed we doubt whether this is its principal benefit. 
The introduction of hot water has a direct and powerful effect 
on the nerves of the stomach, liver and kidneys, and all the 
organs, stimulating them to vigorous and healthy action. The 
evidence of this is, the increased appetite which follows the 
flushing; the increased flow of bile from the liver; the decided 
increase in the amount of urine eliminated by the kidneys; 
and the general increase in strength." 

To use the flushing sufficiently it is best to use a little water 
first to unload the rectum; after that use three, four, five or 
more quarts of hot water until the colon is quite distended, 
so that the effete matter has no chance to be packed away in the 
loculi. 

It is well to take this internal bath on the evenings when 
the full warm bath is taken, and retire immediately. This 
avoids any exposure to chill one might otherwise risk. 

It is quite as "natural" to cleanse the alimentary canal as 
it is to wash the external surface of the body. Many things 
Nature left for man to discover, not the least of which were 
the uses of water. 

HYGIENIC DRESS. 

The care of the body in the matter of clothing varies with 
race and clime. Each race has its foibles respecting dress 
which only culture can overcome. In the more enlightened 
races there has been evolution in dress. There is change con- 
stantly under the name of Fashion, but by easy stages a system 
is being evolved that clothes without injuring the body. Elas- 
ticity, warmth and lightness are the objects to be sought. 
Appropriateness is also a huge item. From neck to toe there 
should be freedom, although the inventive genius of ages has 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 59 

labored to circumvent it. It is only when woman awakens to 
her individual needs that she declares against bands, steels, 
bones and stays. Healthful dress is compatible with artistic 
dress. Mrs. Talbot says: "That which leaves the body un- 
trammeled is beautiful, provided the covering is for use, not 
for adornment only."" 

Underclothing:. 

The choice of underclothing is of prime importance. It 
has been made of numerous layers with bands, ruffles, tucks 
and starch galore. Madame La Favre says : "There is not one 
single, solitary instance in which starch improves wearing ap- 
parel for man, woman or child." In former generations it 
was deemed necessary for women to wear innumerable petti- 
coats to disguise the fact that they had legs. These ' were 
crisply starched, and, with the weight over the abdomen and 
hips, were eminently sufficient to make the delicate creature 
who was at one time the fashion. 

The union undergarment has largely replaced the drawers 
and chemise of long ago. For summer the garment is of 
knee length with no sleeves; for winter it reaches from wrist 
to ankle. Finely woven cotton or linen is the preferred ma- 
terial. Silk is not durable; wool is too warm and also irritates 
the flesh of many. Prof. Warman says : "Woolen underwear 
is warm and is most universally worn. This is a common 
verdict, and, I grant you, it is true. It is warm. It is too 
warm for underwear. It overheats, then chills the body. All 
underclothing should permit free transpiration from the skin ; 
otherwise, colds and other bad consequences follow. 

"Wool as an outer garment? That is quite another ques- 
tion. The very fact that wool is a slow absorbent renders it 
the very best material for overgarments, especially in humid 
climates and in seasons where protection against atmospheric 



60 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

moisture is required. The outer clothing should be a poor 
absorbent, the underclothing a good absorbent of moisture; 
therefore the very condemnation of the one is the strongest 
commendation of the other." 

When the thermometer hovers about the freezing point the 
extremities should be well protected. For the feet there should 
be closely-woven, fleece-lined hose, and strong shoes. For out- 
door wear, the nether limbs should be encased in warm eques- 
trian tights; the feet in overshoes. There need be but one 
petticoat. If it is made after the Jenness-Miller model — that 
is, divided — except in very cold weather the equestrian tights 
may be left off. The Syrian skirt — the divided skirt gathered 
and fastened about the knee — is a good winter garment. These 
divided petticoats are made on a rather wide yoke, to avoid a 
too great fullness at the hips. Undergarments are purely use- 
ful and not decorative in their service. Many cling to the 
idea of daintiness rather than usefulness ; to them it is of little 
worth to appeal for a discarding of beflounced petticoats, 
corset-covers, chemises, drawers, etc., etc. 

Sensible and Artistic Gowns* 

The gowns may be decorative as well as useful. The street 
and visiting gowns may follow conventional design if you will, 
but oh ! my sisters, belong to yourselves at your homes. Wear 
the artistic Josephine, or Empire gown, for leisure, and a 
washable fabric for your work, short of waist and short of 
skirt. Give your waist room for action and your chest room 
for expansion. 

If you are a business woman, have the gown of tailor's 
cloth, with the skirt built upon the gown form; the front of 
the waist may be decorated in imitation of the shirt waist; 
the jacket of the Eton or Blazer style. Do not crowd your 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 61 

lungs, stomach, liver and all internal organs by girting your- 
self with corsets, tight waists and bands. 

One of the most alert and attractive business women the 
writer ever knew wore such a gown, with the skirt well lined 
and stiffened, and no petticoat. Her entire wearing apparel 
for the time was shoes and stockings, union undergarment 
and dress. The cold weather suggested the equestrian tights, 
outside wraps and overshoes. Contrast this garb with that of 
the conventional female! 

The author of "The Evolution of Woman" says the sex 
dresses with deference to men. So while striving to awaken 
women to the dangers of constriction the call must extend to 
men. The following extract is from that volume: 

Male Prejudice to Overcome* 

"For the reason that the female of the human species has 
so long been under subjection to the male, the styles of female 
dress and adornment which have been adopted and which are 
still in vogue are largely the result of masculine taste. Wo- 
man's business in life has been to marry, or, at least, it has been 
necessary for her, in order to gain her support, to win the favor 
of the opposite sex. She must, therefore, by her charms capti- 
vate the male. 

"The girl at the ball with the wasp waist and the greatest 
number of furbelows is never a wall-flower and her numbers 
never go unfilled. The fashionably dressed young woman in 
the horse-car is never permitted to stand, and in shops attended 
by men she never lacks attention. The gaudy dress, the 
pinched feet, and the pink complexion, although false, of the 
actress, young or old, never fail to attract a host of male 
admirers. 

"As for thousands of years women have been dependent on 



G2 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

men not only for food and clothing, but for the luxuries of 
life as well, it is not singular that in the struggle for life to 
which they have been subjected they should have adopted the 
style of dress which would be likely to secure to them the 
greatest amount of success. When we remember that the 
present ideas of becomingness or propriety in woman's apparel 
are the result of ages of sensuality and servitude, it is not 
remarkable that they are difficult to uproot, especially so as~ 
many of the most pernicious and health-destroying styles in- 
volve questions of decorum as understood by a sensualized age. 

"Not long ago I chanced to overhear a conversation be- 
tween two American girls in Berlin, one of whom had been 
a resident of that city for several years, and was therefore 
acquainted with the prevailing idea of female decorum as ex- 
pressed by female apparel. These girls were speaking of dress, 
and the later arrival on German soil, the younger of the two, 
remarked : 'As for me, I never wear corsets/ Whereupon the 
elder, shocked at such a confession, replied, 'Then you certainly 
never can dance in Germany, for the German officers who 
would detect your state of undress would think you immodest, 
and would certainly take advantage of the situation to annoy 
you.' This is an illustration of the manner in which male 
prejudice thwarts any attempt of women to adopt a style of 
dress better suited to their health, convenience and taste. The 
same obstacles have been encountered by those women who 
have been sufficiently courageous to attempt to free their ankles 
from the cumbersome skirts so detrimental to health and so 
destructive to the free use of the legs." 

But, dear ladies, have convictions on the harmfulness of 
ordinary dress and then live up to them, at the very least in 
your own homes. Your home is your castle wherein you must 
ever strive to be your very best self. You may not like to 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 63 

offend the prejudices of people among whom you live, but first 
duty is to self — to make self strong, generous and true. By 
that means prejudice can be outlived, overcome, vanquished. 
The Chinese Minister, Wu Ting Fang, said that women who 
wear corsets cannot bear noble sons, and that decollete dress 
is indecent. Minister Wu, despite the inborn traditions of his 
race, has reached a wise conclusion regarding Caucasian dress 
for women. After all, the proper conventions, styles and man- 
nerisms are matters of geography. One can never afford to be 
enslaved thereby. 

WORK* 

As to work, Fra Elbertus says : "Blessed is that man who 
has found his work," which in this case includes woman. All 
human effort should have a clearly-defined purpose, and be 
cultivated toward definite ends. Nothing can be more unhappy 
than that man or woman should be laboring in any field of 
work for which he or she is not adapted. 

That work is best which serves some useful end. No one 
advances who is not armed with skill for some effort whereby 
society is benefited. On this subject Charlotte Perkins Stetson 
says : "Work is not an individual process, but a collective 
one. It involves division of labor and exchange of products. 
It is something you do for others while others do something 
for you. It is practical, profitable altruism. 

"It is most distinctively human because human interests 
are most interdependent. We cannot be human at all without 
common effort for common good. 

"It is apparent to any one that the mere existence of society 
depends on work, that the nature of a given society depends 
on the nature of its work, that the further progress of society 
depends on the progress of its work; and also that the indi- 



G4 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

vidual finds his best happiness in his best work — his worst 
punishment in uncongenial forced labor, or that last horror, 
forced idleness. 

"No expression of energy of sufficiently high grade to be 
called 'work' is done to gratify one's self. In the very nature as 
work it is done for some one else. 

"The individual may be led to do it by self-interest, drawn 
into the social service through his sub-social desires; but the 
work is for others. 

"We are urged to seek food through the irritation of an 
empty stomach, called appetite, but the processes of nutrition 
are not for the gratification of the appetite, but for the nour- 
ishment of the body. 

"If work were done for individual ends why should we not 
impose on one another ? It is because of our false notion that 
it is a personal matter done for personal gratification that we 
see everywhere the private interest working against the com- 
mon interest; and the world is clogged and injured by bad 
work, and it is because of this same false notion — that work is 
something you do for yourself and would not do if you did not 
have to — that we so foolishly misjudge the work and the 
worker." 

The Right Direction of Energy* 

Activity for mental, spiritual and bodily powers is a neces- 
sity. If energy is not expressed in a right direction it will be 
in a wrong direction. When expressed right the individual 
develops; when expressed wrong he deteriorates. This is the 

law. 

"Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the 
ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do when 
it ought to be done, whether you like it or not," says Prof. 
Huxley. "It is the first lesson which ought to be learned, and 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 65 

however early a man's training begins, it is probably the last 
lesson he learns thoroughly." This is true because the dignity 
of work has not been understood. We will not wish to put 
off what should be done when we once know that order is put 
out of plumb by our so doing. 

Service, some kind of useful service, performed to the best 
of one's ability and skill, is the world's need. They who labor 
not with brain and hand have no real claims to respect. • 

RECREATION, 

Recreation is the activity one seeks as a change from 
the business of his life, and is as necessary as that business. 
The brain-worker needs physical recreation, the muscle-worker 
needs mental recreation; both need social recreation. It is a 
false system of economy that calls for all of the working 
moments to be expended in labor. One degenerates into a 
machine, whose labor only brings fuel to the sustenance of 
life. Work should be more than that one may win food for 
the stomach and shelter for the body. One should have pleas- 
ure in his work and pleasure in his recreation — pleasure of the 
kind that warms and thrills the soul. There is a kind of pleas- 
ure partaken of during leisure hours that destroys. This is 
not true recreation. The alcohol habit, the tobacco habit, the 
confection habit, the habit of sexual intemperance, all react 
with blightsome vengeance on those who so seek diversion 
from their labors. Bodily senses are all for useful purposes, 
but to please the sense regardless of the object of the sense 
brings unhappiness for soul or body, or both, sooner or later. 

The best recreation is that which best fits one for a success- 
ful discharge of his duties. But a week or two of summer 
vacation will not make up for the violations of health during 
the rest of the year. When we have learned to "obey and 



66 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

live" there will be some recreation and rest interlarded with 
work throughout the year in addition to the summer vacation. 

Recreation means all things to all men — and women. Some 
go to resorts by mountain or sea, where the strenuous life 
is not lost for a moment; some go hunting and fishing; some 
merely camp out near to nature's heart and rest. The last 
appeals most strongly to the unconventional type. 

In taking "to the woods" for a summer's outing it should 
be borne in mind that disease is often contracted by drinking 
from unused wells or stagnant pools. The appetite, too, is 
stimulated by free life and outdoor exercise, and there will be 
tendencies toward intemperance in diet, which should be 
nipped in the bud. 

Dr. Oswald says : "We should teach our children that a 
healthy mind can dwell only in a healthy body, and that he 
who pretends to find no time to take care of his health is a 
workman who thinks it a waste of time to care for his tools." 

REST. 

Rest-time is the time when the conscious forces of the 
body are suspended for the purpose of recuperation. Activity 
must be followed by rest; this is one of the physiological 
rhythms by which life is preserved. Usually the hours of rest 
are taken at night in bed, the average need being for eight 
hours of sleep. During the day there can be moments of rest. 
Relax the body and mind several times during the day's work, 
and you will be repaid by increased strength. There should 
be rest before meals if there has been fatigue; twenty minutes 
should be given before and after dinner. The processes of 
digestion cannot work if there is fatigue. 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 67 

Sleeping-Rooms and Beds. 

Preparations for the night rest should be well planned. The 
sleeping-room should have thorough ventilation through the 
day and openings for free passage of air during the night. 
Everybody should sleep alone, from the new-born infant to one 
in old age. This is a most important item generally overlooked 
in household arrangement. To be sure, a large house will be 
needed if each member has his own sleeping-room, but more 
people can afford it than arrange for it. When more than one 
person must be assigned to a room each should have his own 
bed, even though the persons be father, mother and infant. 

It would be difficult to find two persons exactly equal in 
bodily powers. When sleeping together, between the same 
pair of sheets, the stronger will absorb vitality from the 
weaker. One person will arise refreshed for the day's work, 
the other more or less enervated. 

When two persons occupying the same bed are husband and 
wife, in addition to the depletion of one's vitality, there is 
the temptation to amorous excess, which is avoided by sepa- 
rate beds. Of this Dr. Ruddock says: "Married persons 
should adopt more generally the rule of sleeping in separate 
rooms, or at least in separate beds, as is almost the universal 
custom in Germany and Holland. The rule being adopted, 
several very important advantages would result in regard to 
health and comfort. 

"Opportunity makes importunity. * * * 

"And it is well known that if two persons, one sickly and 
the other healthy, occupy the same bed, one will become dis- 
eased without the other being benefited." 

The sleep of all persons should be calm, without pain, 
uneasiness, fantastic dreams or visions. It should be neither 
interrupted nor too long undisturbed. The only movement 



68 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

that does not mean irregularity is occasional turning from 
side to side. The more noiseless the breathing, the more 
healthy. The skin should be warm and moist to the touch, 
but excess means variation from health. 

The better position to assume on retiring to rest is to lie 
upon the right side. If there is food in the stomach it passes 
out the more readily. The pillow should be just enough to 
allow the head to have horizontal position when lying on the 
side. 

The mattress may be of straw, husks, hair or wool ; feathers 
are no longer used. 

The covering should combine warmth with lightness. If 
comfortables are used they should be of light weight and 
easily laundered. Blankets should have a thorough outdoor 
airing at least once or twice a week, particularly if used with- 
out sheets, as is sometimes the case. Absolute cleanliness in 
regard to beds and bedding is the most essential requirement. 

Beds must be thoroughly aired each morning after use. 
To make up a bed soon after it is vacated is to hold in its 
folds the poisonous emanations from the body. Frequent 
repetitions of this sin will breed disease. 

The Importance of Rest. 

In disease, rest is half the cure; indeed, some forms of dis- 
ease are amenable to the rest cure alone. Almost any form 
of indigestion, a disease of the digestive tract, will yield if 
that system is allowed proper rest. One may, with advantage, 
fast from one meal up to three, four or seven days. This time 
allows the system to rid itself of whatever is clogging it, at 
the same time giving an overworked digestion rest. 

A current periodical says : "People used to think when a 
man was sick he needed something unwholesome to eat. The 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 69 

thrifty housewife stored away quantities of preserves, brandied 
cherries and jellies so as to have them in readiness if some 
member of the household should be ill. An old friend of mine 
came home late one night and found that his wife had retired. 
Discovering no pie in the pantry, he went to the door of his 
wife's room and called out: 'Mary, where is the pie?' Mary 
replied: 'I am very sorry, John, but there is no pie in the 
house.' Returning to the pantry he made a search for cake. 
Finding no cake, he again sought the chamber door and 
asked: 'Mary, where is the cake?' Mary very reluctantly 
confessed that the supply of cake was also exhausted. The old 
gentleman, in stern voice, then asked: 'Why, Mary, w T hat 
would you do if some one should be sick in the night?' " 

Although the pessimist may say the world is growing worse, 
it will be hard to find many communities now where the crime 
of gluttony is not recognized or more or less worked against. 
Illness is not nearly so generally treated with pie and cake as 
some generations ago, thanks to the onward march of progress. 

SPECIAL EXERCISES. 

Special exercises are used for the development of weakly 
parts. In this way even hereditary tendencies can be over- 
come. Helen Gardner says : "The conditions under which we 
develop or restrict our inherited tendencies will determine in 
large part whether heredity shall be our slave-driver or our 
companion in the race for life, liberty and the pursuit of happi- 
ness." 

Any one with sufficient intelligence for parentage will know 
what mental or physical weakness of one or both parents is 
apt to manifest itself in the child, and assist the unfolding intel- 
ligence to overcome it. For instance, there is a family tendency 
to pulmonary disorders. The child is given every benefit of 



70 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

sunshine, open air and exercise for deep breathing, while the 
body is fortified with nourishing food. A tendency to ner- 
vousness is overcome by attention to physical well-being. Ac- 
cording to Prof. Caldwell, inherited tendencies may be divided 
into three classes : 

"( i) Good, that are strong and well, if left free to take care 
of themselves. Good that are weak and need encouragement 
and choicest culture. 

"(2) Excessive faculties that need training to right uses and 
applying to good causes, lest they be turned into evil channels, 
and become curses instead of blessings. 

"(3) Bad tendencies that need to be curbed and turned in 
opposite directions, making .them blessings." 

One who has missed the proper cultivation in childhood 
can,~by effort of the reason and will, aid himself in encouragi'ng 
faults of mind or body. For instance, where there is natural 
taste for some of the habits that destroy — the alcohol habit or 
the tobacco habit — the person must keep at the most extreme 
distance from temptation. Resolutely turn from them and 
fill the mind with thoughts of what will ennoble and uplift. 
We become like that upon which the mind is fixed. 

A teacher of the principles elaborated by Francois Del Sarte 
says : "Aside from a proper diet there is nothing that will 
bring self-control so readily as breathing exercises/' Follow- 
ing are the two most highly recommended : 

Del Sarte Breathing Exercises* 

(1) Standing; draw abdomen well out of sight, and ex- 
pand the chest; throw head back and face up, simultaneously 
raise bent arms to level of shoulders and place finger-tips upon 
the chest at a point between the breasts on the sternum; look 
up and inhale while sweeping the arms and hands up, back, and 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 71 

down to sides; exhale while sweeping hands to chest again 
by the same heart-shaped circle. Repeat six times, drawing the 
air in from above. 

(2) Standing; expand chest and draw abdomen out of 
sight ; throw head back and face up, the arms at the sides ; now 
up, around the same heart-shaped track previously used, but 
in this you inhale as if sweeping the air from all sides and 
above into the lungs; exhale as you sweep the arms up, out, 
and down. 

Health being absolutely dependent upon the breathing pow- 
ers, there is no phase of life in which chest cultivation may be 
neglected. Well-developed shoulders and chest always indi- 
cate the finer, stronger individual powers. 

A breathing exercise for use first thing in the morning is 
the following : 

Before dressing stand erect, heels together, hands on hips, 
chest up ; inhale slowly through the nostrils until the lungs are 
full, then expel all the air, forcing it out as much as possible. 
Then take five ordinary breaths, and repeat the forced respira- 
tion. Repeat five times each morning. There will be a dizzi- 
ness at first, because the system has not been used to so much 
oxygen, and it has an intoxicating effect; but this passes 
away with practice. This forced respiration causes distension 
of the air cells, which become stronger by the exercise. 

When walking in the open air it is beneficial to try this 
lung gymnastic : Inhale slowly, then walk five or ten steps 
and exhale slowly. Any person who is a member of a family 
with tendency to diseases of the air passage will be able to 
hold at bay by lung development the scourge of asthma, bron- 
chitis and consumption. 



72 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

BEAUTY CULTURE 

Special cultivation toward personal beauty may be in- 
cluded in the care of the complexion, hair, teeth, hands, feet, 
etc. 

Real beauty, like every other good thing, is worthless unless 
it is useful. But a woman with a little thought can keep her- 
self in a good state of preservation and perform her useful 
part, too. 

If nature has bestowed upon you good, regular features, 
be thankful and take care of yourself; if not, remember the 
features are but a slight percentage of personal attractiveness. 
A good carriage, a fresh complexion and a kindly spirit are of 
first importance. 

A good complexion is obtainable through health ; pure food, 
pure water, pure air must be appreciated and used for all their 
value. To keep the skin in good condition the body must be 
kept cleansed of impurities from its millions of perspiratory 
pores. The internal bath used twice or three times a week 
will be of great aid in keeping the system rid of impurity. 

Mrs. Humphrey says: "Too many clothes serve to clog 
up the skin and make the myriad of nerves that keep it alive 
grow sensitive, so that a little dab of fresh air on an unpro- 
tected spot will make you shiver all over. Stimulating these 
little nerves that lie upon the surface of the body tends to 
stimulate the healthy action of the skin, the circulation of the 
blood, and, finally, the operations of all the organs. / So it is 
desirable to disrobe completely in a room filled with fresh 
air, and to take a good rub-down. This is particularly grati- 
fying after a long day of visiting, or shopping, or other work. 
If you feel nervous or irritable, try this simple method of get- 
ting the kinks out of yourself; it will make you doubt if you 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 73 

really were nervous or in bad humor after all, so pleasing will 
be the change." 

A Remedy for Sleeplessness* 

For sleeplessness nothing is a better aid to overcome it than 
the air-bath. One should completely disrobe, and, while walk- 
ing about, rub or roll the flesh. 

For the morning sponge-bath a sedative water composed of 
a cup of sea-salt, a half-ounce of camphor, a half-ounce of 
ammonia, is recommended; these are put into a quart bottle, 
filling the bottle with hot water; it is ready for use after 
twenty-four hours. Put a teaspoonful of the mixture in the 
basin for use at one time. You will be surprised at the amount 
of dirt it will remove, and it brings a most beneficent reaction. 
The ammonia cleanses the pores, the camphor and sea-salt im- 
part a tonic effect; the result will be a firm, smooth skin. 

In bathing the face, be careful not to be rough in application 
of soap and towel. From exposure to the air and dust the 
face and hands need extra care. Use warm, soft water ; lather 
the face and hands with a good soap, and then massage every 
portion of the face and neck until the flesh tingles ; after which 
rinse, and dry by patting the skin with a soft towel. Apply a 
cold cream or skin-food. The following formula is recom- 
mended by Madame Qui Vive: 

Madame Qui Vive's Skin Food, 

Spermaceti one-half ounce 

White wax one-half ounce 

Sweet almond oil two ounces 

Lanoline one ounce 

Cocoanut oil one ounce 

Tincture benzoin three drops 

Orange* flower water one ounce 



74 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL 

The object of a skin food is to prevent wrinkles. These 
little lines on the face mar its smoothness and beauty, and 
Mme. Qui Vive adds, "are unnecessary evils — anyway until 
one gets to be a hundred or so." 

They appear because the sub-cutaneous fat has been ab- 
sorbed, and the skin falls into folds. When the skin food is 
applied the fattening qualities are absorbed and nourish and 
build up the underlying tissues. 

Mme. Pote says not even worry will make a woman grow 
wrinkled and old so rapidly as sleeping with the head upon 
high pillows. The tendency of the muscles through the day is 
to droop; this should be counteracted by sleeping with the 
head low. The facial massage should consist mainly of up- 
ward pressure. 

Facial Eruptions* 

Facial eruptions are largely due to internal impurity, but 
are sometimes caused by disease or by an irritating soap, or 
too frequent use of powder. Where the face is washed and 
groomed more than the rest of the body the impurities are 
called to where escape is most freely offered. When it is made 
unsightly by blotches attention must be given to the diet, to 
the internal bath, and other hygienic measures. All pastries 
and confections must be given up unless you love yourself 
more than your friends, who wish to see you beautiful. Feast 
on fruits instead of candies; eat apples, oranges, peaches, 
pears, etc. Pimples or blotches must never be irritated; keep 
the skin clean, the skin food applied, and let the cure come from 
internal cleansing and purifying through fresh air, pure food, 
and the copious internal bath. 

Blackheads require much the same treatment. They are 
due to inactivity of the sebaceous glands and logically disap- 
pear when activity is created. 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 75 

Sunburn, Freckles, Etc* 

Tan, sunburn and freckles come from external causes — the 
action of the wind and sun. 

Do not bathe the face with soap and water before going out 
without fortifying it with some preparation such as the, fol- 
lowing : 

Take of — 

Distilled witch hazel three ounces 

Prepared cucumber juice three ounces 

Rosewater one and one-half ounces 

Essence white rose one and one-half ounces 

Tincture of benzoin one-half ounce 

After using a little of the above a powder may be dusted 
lightly over the face. 

The discolorations are from activity of the pigment cells 
under the skin and disappear when the face and hands are 
for a time protected from wind and weather. 

Sunburn should receive treatment with a cold cream rubbed 
well into the skin. It is a burn and should be treated as such. 

Care of the Hands* 

The care of the hands is not so serious an item, except to 
housewives who are also the maids-of-all-work. There is 
so much of washing and polishing and dabbling in water 
they must really use care to prevent the hands being unlovely. 
The secret of keeping the hands nice is to keep them free from 
sudden changes of temperature. Dry them thoroughly after 
having them in water and rub them with corn-meal or corn- 
starch. 



76 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

For chapped hands or lips take of the following : 

Oil of almonds four ounces 

White beeswax two drachms 

Spermaceti two drachms 

Rosewater four ounces 

Orange water one ounce 

Melt the first three ingredients in a saucepan, and while 
cooling beat in the last two. 

After bathing the hands, the skin should be pushed back 
from the nails to prevent hang nails. Nails should be trimmed 
the same shape as the finger. Use no sharp instrument about 
the nails except the scissors for trimming. Rub callous spots 
with pumice stone. 

Redness of the hands is due to restriction of the circulation. 
Either the sleeves, corset or waist is too tight. Lemon juice 
will whiten the hands; apply cold cream immediately after 
using it. 

Protect the hands from cold ; it is destructive to their beauty. 

Care of the Hair. 

Nice, clean, glossy hair is an attractive adjunct to beauty. 
Naturally oily hair should be washed twice a month and thor- 
oughly rinsed ; hair not so oily, about once in a month. Equally 
as often the hair should be trimmed. When the nourishment 
within each hair does not extend the full length it splits. The 
trimming of the ends is to remove these dead portions, which 
will promote growth. When the hair begins falling, the scalp 
may be invigorated by using massage. It quickens circulation 
and brings health and strength to the roots. The following 
recipe is good for dandruff and falling hair : 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 77 

Resorcin forty-eight grains 

Glycerine one-fourth ounce 

Alcohol . . . enough to finish filling a two-ounce bottle 
Apply to the scalp each night, rubbing it well in. 

When bodily health is not good it is to be seen in the hair 
as well as the complexion and eyes. Any of the symptoms 
should suggest attention to health. 

Brushing the hair at night removes accumulations of dust. 
Dandruff is a natural formation and will accumulate if clean- 
liness is not observed sufficiently. 

A coarse comb is used to disentangle the hair, the brush to 
remove flakiness and dust; fine-tooth combs are outgrown; 
they belong to the past exclusively. 

Superfluous hair is removable surely by electrolysis; the 
root of the hair is destroyed and future growth made impos- 
sible. Another method sometimes effectual is the use of 
peroxide of hydrogen alternately with diluted ammonia; the 
peroxide bleaches and the ammonia deadens the growth. This 
takes time and patience. If the skin becomes irritated, use 
cream. 

Every woman should adopt a style of dressing the hair be- 
coming to herself and cling fondly to it. Each passing whim 
of fashion cannot improve the appearance of everybody. 

The Care of the Teeth. 

The care of the teeth cannot begin too early ; through- 
out life they are accessory adjuncts to health as well as 
beauty. When the first infant teeth have come in they should 
be washed every morning with cool, clean water and a soft 
cloth. Should a dark-colored formation appear next the gum 
it may be removed by rubbing prepared chalk over the discol- 



78 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL, 

oration. If it cannot be reached by the soft cloth use a tooth- 
pick bitten into pulp at one end as a kind of brush. If the 
milk-teeth are not cared for the permanent teeth are apt to 
come in irregularly and be a lasting deformity. By the time a 
child is three years old he can be taught to use a brush himself, 
moving it up and down rather than from side to side, to re- 
move particles from between the teeth. 

Teeth are apt to become diseased from insufficient or im- 
proper nourishment as well as a lack of cleanliness. But this 
tells in all parts of the body. 

Cleansing of the teeth should be after each meal, and upon 
retiring all particles should be removed by drawing between 
the teeth a piece of waxed dental floss ; or if too close together, 
the fine Japanese toothpick, or a quill, may be used. Use a 
mild tooth powder whose ingredients you know, rinsing the 
mouth as well as the brush, thereafter. Tepid water should 
be used, as excessive cold or heat destroys the enamel. 

The saliva undergoes a putrefactive change, which, when 
allowed to dry in the mouth, forms tartar, and is very injurious 
to teeth and gums. Upon making the morning toilet the 
mouth may be rinsed with water in which there is a drop of 
listerine or carbolic acid; it prevents tenderness of the gums. 
Occasionally a little juice from a lemon may be squeezed over 
the brush and rubbed over the teeth, to remove the yellowish 
deposit; it must be used quickly and the mouth rinsed, as it 
may damage the enamel. It must be borne in mind that the 
enamel, nature's protection for the teeth, when once destroyed 
is never formed anew. Hard substances that break or scratch 
it should never come in contact with the teeth. Never use 
metal toothpicks, bite threads, or crack nuts with the teeth. 

Visit a dentist twice a year to have the teeth examined. 
Wherever there is a decayed spot it must be filled, and all 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 79 

calcareous accumulations removed. Use the tooth-brush often, 
and the breath will be kept pure and sweet. 

The Care of the Eyes* 

Beauty of the eyes is dependent upon a reasonable degree 
of care, but chiefly upon the cultivation of an amiable, intelli- 
gent spirit, for the eyes are "the windows of the soul." 

To face the light when reading or writing, to sew or em- 
broider in a flickering artificial light, to read lying abed, are a 
few of the things to be avoided if sight is to be preserved. 
Whenever the eyeballs ache, work of whatever nature should 
be suspended and the eyelids closed for a few moments' rest. 
Another thing, do not cry. There have been many dramatic 
things written about women who are sad-eyed, but the fashion 
has passed. Weeping inflames and injures the eyes, and, at 
present, is apt to mean you are lacking in courage to properly 
face your environment. 

When the eyes sting and burn, bathe in tepid water and 
rest them for a time. Weak tea is a good tonic. The eyes will 
partake of any impairment of the health; hence, for sake of 
strong sight, do not pervert the rules of health. Dr. Foote 
says that John Quincy Adams preserved the perfectness of his 
sight until he died, at the age of eighty-one, by pursuing, from 
an early age, the habit of frequently bathing the eyes and mak- 
ing manipulations toward the bridge of the nose. 

Where there are visual disturbances they may be corrected by 
properly fitted glasses. 

The Care of the Feet* 

The care of the feet lies mainly in keeping them prop- 
erly shod, cleansed, and the nails trimmed. The perspiratory 
pores are largest on the soles of the feet and palms of the 



80 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

hands; hence, more impurity is deposited there. When the 
semi-weekly or weekly warm bath is taken the feet must be 
well rubbed with a cloth or bath-brush that the collection of 
scarf-skin may be easily removed. The nails should be 
trimmed closely. 

Shoes must be well-fitting, but roomy enough to allow mus- 
cular freedom. A large, ill-fitting shoe is as apt to create corns, 
bunions, etc., as one too tight. The low heel is the only one 
to be considered; high heels throw the body out of its proper 
poise. If there are corns, a little sulphuric acid upon the end 
of a toothpick touched upon them will soon cause them to dis- 
appear. 

Ingrowing nails are torture and are caused by pressure usu- 
ally upon the great toe. Bathe the afflicted member frequently 
to reduce inflammation, and with a pen-knife or cuticle knife 
cut a V in the center of the nail. As the nail will tend to 
grow together at the niche cut out, the ingrowing portion will 
be lifted from the flesh in which it is imbedded. Be good to 
your feet and they will be good to you, by never paining. 

Health, Beauty and Grace* 

Ease and grace for body as well as mind are attained 
through the training, polishing and disciplining of all the fac- 
ulties. Prentice Mulford says : "The habitually self-possessed 
woman will be graceful in every movement for the reason that 
her spirit has complete possession and command of its tool, 
the body." 

Francois Del Sarte taught that physical development, poise 
and gesture are but the external expressions of an internal con- 
dition, and that on teaching the expression the feeling would 
follow. Which is true when the real principles are understood. 
But much culture is superficial; is veneering to a coarse in- 



THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 81 

terior life, and is not what is desirable for any stage of growth. 

In middle life and even in old age suppleness of the body 
may be preserved by attention to certain needs of the body. 
One writer says: "Exercise all your life. When you stop 
exercising and become indolent, you begin to die. Nature has 
willed it so." To preserve equilibrium it is necessary to take 
exercise enough every day to cause free perspiration and fa- 
tigue. If the daily employment is of a physical nature there 
should yet be enough other muscular exertion to secure an all- 
around development of the body. 

For adults physical activity must not be violent nor too 
prolonged, although the muscles may be firmer than in youth. 
If one guards against the "sin of over-eating," daily exercise 
prevents undue accumulations of fat, which encourages degen- 
eration of the tissues. The editor of Physical Culture says: 
"Avoid making the idiotic mistake that fat means health. If 
you are fat begin to reduce at once. You are carrying a bur- 
den that can always be discarded by vigorous, intelligent ef- 
forts, and the brightness and joys of life will vastly increase 
when this plain duty has been performed." 

To prevent the stiffness and inflexibility of old age the fol- 
lowing, by J. R. Blake, should be seriously considered : 

"Hardening of the bones determines why some people are 
small and others large. Apart from disease which destroys 
life, the wear and tear of the body in old age is absolutely 
unnecessary. We have seen that ossification is necessary to 
youth, in order that the bones may be formed and made 
strong. The action of the blood which deposits bony matter 
is kept up through life. Why do we not reverse the process ? 
Old age, the wear and tear of life, the breaking down of the 
functions of the body, are all caused by this osseous process, 
which itself is caused by calcareous deposits. What do these 



82 THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL. 

deposits cause? The hardening of the skin; thereupon it 
wrinkles and gets old ; the hair is killed and the blood does not 
circulate freely. The brain turns to bony tissue in its intricate 
parts; it loses flexibility, becomes hard, so that deep thinking 
is impossible. The heart gets clogged ; its circulative action is 
impeded, and the body suffers by reason of poor blood. The 
arteries, muscles, sinews and tendons become stiffened by the 
osseous tendency, and old age is attended by multitudinous ills. 
All of the above symptoms of old age and disease can be pre- 
vented by the use of distilled water. At the age of twenty-one 
and ever after one should habitually dissolve the osseous de- 
posits of the body. The daily use of distilled water is, after 
middle life, one of the most important means of preventing 
these deposits and the consequent derangement of health/' 

Health is beauty and happiness. It is attainable by con- 
formity to the laws of being. We are forever under the sov- 
ereignty of natural law, and only by complying with its 
conditions are we enabled to realize what is best in our earthly 
apprenticeship. It is not a tyrant, but a powerful co-operator, 
when properly understood. 



PARTL 




CHAPTER V. 

The Unfolding of Womanhood* 

N LONGFELLOW'S poem entitled Maidenhood 
there is a pretty piece of imagery in the first of the 
following lines: 

"Standing with reluctant feet, 

Where the brook and river meet, 

Womanhood and childhood fleet ! 
* * * * 

O, thou child of many prayers, 

Life hath quicksands, Life hath snares. 

Care and age come unawares." 

The sure and certain transition from a care-free stage of 
life to one of serious import fills a matured person with keen 
apprehension, if he or she thinks at all. Childhood, maiden- 
hood, wifehood, motherhood, and through all of these the 
factor of being a representative of humankind, mean enough 
for the vital consideration of every one. Very few children 
can be left to "jus* grow" as Topsy did. Their pathway must 
be illuminated by love and wisdom, that they may conform to, 
and not transgress against, the laws of being. 

The Curse of Prudishness* 

Standing in the pathway of those who seek truth for them- 
selves and the world is what is known as the Curse of Prudish- 
ness. Coming in the guise of virtue, like a wolf in sheep's 

83 



84 THE UNFOLDING OF WOMANHOOD. 

clothing, it is apt to be mistaken on first sight. One content 
with superficialities will never see below the surface, and hence 
never know he is lowering himself by the low ideas regarding 
bodily impurity. In an essay on "Prudery" Lady Cook says : 
"We have seen young matrons blush with shame when strang- 
ers have gazed upon their naked babes. The beautiful sight of 
these little, rosy, fragile incarnations of innocence, pure and 
spotless as from the Maker's hands, could crimson their own 
mother with blushes! What folly is this! What irreverence 
to Him who made us and saw all His work that 'it was very 
good.' It was not thus that Mary presented the infant Jesus 
to those who came to do Him honor ; and doubtless for many 
a year He ran and played with other children, as they do even 
now in the East, without a vestige of covering. The prurient 
mock-modesty which is horrified by the sight of a naked child 
or a nude statue or picture is a reproach to our weak-minded- 
ness and to our defective moral training. If we were not so 
'nice' as we are, our ideas would not be so nasty. We want 
more common sense, more philosophy on sexual matters before 
the mind of our children can be trained to purity, and vice be 
lessened thereby. For it is not what we see, but how we 
see. If impurity exists in the soul it will be inflamed by the 
most innocent cause; but if pure it will regard all things of 
evil with indifference, and all of good with approbation. It 
follows, then, that prudery is a particular form of impurity." 

Prttdery and Ignorance* 

Prudery is the result of a misconception of what is pure. The 
outgrowth of training under it proves it to be a foolish fallacy. 
But often it is ingrained as a matter of conscience, and "none 
is so hopelessly wrong as he who is conscientiously wrong." 
Mothers try to excuse themselves when sons or daughters go 



THE UNFOLDING OF WOMANHOOD. 85 

wrong by saying, "It has not been my fault. I trained them 
the best that I knew." This is scant comfort. It is the com- 
mon custom of humanity to seek, even to the ends of earth, for 
a cause outside of themselves for any failure. It is with the 
hope of aiding young parents to see the way clearer that this 
volume is issued. And there are many others working along 
this line, one of whom remarks : "Young parents, you have not 
forgotten the five or ten years of disquiet, misery or mortifica- 
tion that was your lot, caused chiefly by the remarks of equally 
ignorant comrades, or suggested by the many sights and inci- 
dents which crowded your lives — mysteries which hypnotized 
you until you were powerless to concentrate your thoughts 
upon your studies. The only relief to be found was in con- 
structing air-castles and. hatching ideas, living in and with them 
until marriage brought sad awakening that was almost dis- 
heartening. 

"How we would like our children to avoid all this, not hav- 
ing their lesson hours obtruded upon by goblins or fairies. It is 
within your power, young father, young mother — will you but 
make the endeavor. Give nature an open chance. Remove 
those barriers to mind and body. Let them know the truth. 
They will surely find out these things. It is better they be 
taught the truth by the parents whom they trust and confide in 
than that they pick it up elsewhere, clothed in mystery and 
sensationalism." 

Parents as Teachers of the Truth* 

Those parents who begin at the beginning with their infants 
will have no difficulty in imparting to them the meaning of the 
unfolding powers of creative life. It is just the next step in 
growth which should continue in the confidences between them. 
At every turn from the first dawn of the powers of observation 



86 THE UNFOLDING OF WOMANHOOD. 

a child is met with the marvelous changes called birth and 
death. Naturally he wants to know. Sometimes his parents 
are without reverence for creative life, so they are not in posi- 
tion to teach truth. So, as Mrs. Stetson says, we have "this 
amazing paradox of mothers ashamed of motherhood, unable 
to explain it, and — measure this well — lying to their children 
about the primal truths of life — mothers lying to their own 
children about motherhood !" 

The young girl entering the threshold of womanhood might 
often, in the words of Schiller, say : 

"I wander through the wood alone, 
No trodden path before me lies." 

The goodly knowledge of life's laws is the only safe guide. 
Unfolding within her being is the voice of creative life, whose 
function she must know to save herself from mistakes that 
bring pain and often humiliation in their train. Parents 
shield their children from harm in many ways, but the way 
of most value is the one of teaching the child to care for him- 
self ; to develop within himself the powers for good, so that 
the darkness of evil has no place in his mind. Then what- 
ever he may hear of impurity will not attract him as some- 
thing mysterious and sensational. 

Up to the age of puberty the voice of creative life is com- 
paratively dormant; that is, the child's body has not suffi- 
ciently developed for its manifestations. When it is first 
heard, the individual, boy or girl, is startled, and seeks for 
explanation of its meaning. How often do they dare to go to 
parents ? Alas the day ! confidences have ceased, if ever they 
were begun, caused by the ruthlessness which degrades the 
sex nature. There are few other subjects beyond the pale of 
discussion; but the young early crave information regarding 



THE UNFOLDING OF WOMANHOOD. 87 

these every-day displays of creative life, and are met with 
evasiveness or repression — so the gateway to confidential rela- 
tions becomes more and more closed. 

Sex a Quality of Soul* 

To gain a clear knowledge of this underlying power of all 
activity, it must be fixed in mind that sex is a quality of soul; 
is a principle, not substance; is of the entire being, not merely 
of the reproductive system, though those are organs for its 
especial expression on the plane of generation. The male and 
female are the two equal principles through the co-operation of 
which advancement is made; both are equally necessary in 
the Great Plan. 

When the influx of life drawn by the creative principle of 
sex begins, there is such a superabundance of life the young 
person does not know how to make use of the excess. He or 
she is most apt to hear from some source that the voice of 
passion is his for personal gratification alone, rather than the 
prompting to think and to do. Instead, it is Nature's spur to 
activity, and must be listened to in that sense for most of the 
days of life. There may and should come a time when ma- 
turity is reached that the power of sex will be used to generate 
on the physical plane; but these are rare times. No father 
and mother will think they can fully nourish and care for 
more than three or four children. 

Says a writer : "There are two manifestations of this life ; 
the building up or conserving of the body for mental and 
physical achievements, and, secondly, for the propagation of 
Man. In either direction life and energy are consumed. Na- 
ture points out the order of the development of these two lines 
of activity. Clearly, the development and the upbuilding and 
maturing of the body and the corresponding mental growth 



88 THE UNFOLDING OF WOMANHOOD. 

within the body are the first in the point of time. Only after 
the body is fully developed and a life worthy of transmission 
is evolved, only after this is there a valid reason for perpetua- 
tion. The reverse of this order is bound to be more or less 
disastrous." 

The gratification of any appetite of the body, whether 
natural or acquired, is not so much for the delight it brings 
as to cause a cessation of the craving. The acquired tobacco 
or alcohol habits are gratified that the craving shall tem- 
porarily cease. The perverted voice of passion is silenced by 
the same means. And the pervert sells himself for the pleasure 
he thus buys. 

The Training: of Childhood. 

On the subject of keeping the child-mind pure, an author 
says : "Feeding such food as gravies, pies, tea and coffee to 
a five or ten-year-old angel from heaven would produce in 
it a tendency to self-abuse, avoiding all mention of a child 
of the earth, born with an inherited tendency." 

The training of childhood has much to do with developing 
precocity in the sex nature. Regard must be given with ref- 
erence to this, because the best development of the child de- 
mands it. Plain but nourishing food, abundant exercise and 
fresh air, with wise parental guidance, insure a normal un- 
folding of the powers of being. A girl, having the same hu- 
man needs as a boy, must be given an equal opportunity. Re- 
strictions on account of sex are as unwise as they are harmful. 
Mrs. Stetson says that "the most normal girl is the 'torn-boy' — 
whose numbers increase among us in these wiser days, — a 
healthy young creature, who is human through and through, 
not feminine till it is time to be. The most normal boy has 
calmness and gentleness, as well as vigor and courage. He is 
a human creature, as well as a male creature, and not aggress- 



THE UNFOLDING OF WOMANHOOD. 89 

ively masculine till it is time to be. Childhood is not the 
period for marked manifestation of sex. That we encourage 
and admire shows our over-sexed condition." 

A very foolish practice is that of suggesting lovers and 
sweethearts to infants, and teasing those who have just entered 
the adolescent period. Both practices pervert the normal 
child, stimulating sexual precocity in the young, and stultify- 
ing or befuddling the unfolding faculties of the older. 

Parents Their Children's Comrades* 

The true training will align the young mind with the forces 
of health, and bestow thereon the assurance of truth. Infor- 
mation as to the origin of life or the laws of life need not be 
beyond the demand or the capacity to understand. The par- 
ent must ever be the child's comrade and friend from the 
period of mud-pies and make-believe environment, on through 
life. If a question is propounded at a time when the parent is 
otherwise engaged, make an appointment for its considera- 
tion later on. From early infancy great care must be exer- 
cised that physical sensations do not become attractive. It is 
but the instrument of the personality that occupies it, and 
which must ever be under the domination of the ego. 

Never begin in babyhood to shame one part of the body. 
Each function and each organ has its proper uses, all equally 
important. This knowledge should be communicated to 
the child. Also that there is a time, a place and a condition 
for all things, and what is out of harmony at one time will 
not be so in its own proper place. The beauty of modesty has 
a proper foundation, and crying shame against any portion or 
function of the body is not one of its planks. The toilet, the 
bath, the evacuations, belong to privacy after one has reached 
maturity, or even puberty. But it does not follow that these 



90 THE UNFOLDING OF WOMANHOOD. 

most necessary attentions are disgraceful. They are really 
serious parts of preparations for activity. 

In the second stanza quoted at the beginning of this chap- 
ter the line, 

"Life hath quicksands, Life hath snares," 

is pregnant with meaning to mother-hearts. So many of the 
quicksands and snares have their foundation in the ignorance 
of the meaning of womanhood. 

"I am more and more convinced that right knowledge is 
not only a safeguard of purity, but is really the creator of 
true modesty. To give a young person a reverent knowledge 
of self is to insure that delicacy of thought which preserves 
the bloom of modesty." — Almost a Woman. 

The pathway of unfolding womanhood is beset with snares 
and pitfalls for unwary feet. Vaguely conscious of the law 
that masculine and feminine elements are complementary and 
necessary to each other, young girls are often easily led away 
by the unscrupulous of the other sex. Sometimes they are 
frightened into keeping virtue's pathway by being shown the 
goblins about them, but this means, like the one of using hell 
to scare people into heaven, is very questionable. It can never 
give a young woman the self-poise and assurance that enlight- 
enment can. Caresses and love-words are acceptable to most 
woman-natures, but in the sense which leads to mating they 
are unsuitable for one in the early teens. 

It should be pointed out to the daughter that comradery 
and friendliness with boy friends is all right, but that thoughts 
or talks of marriage are out of place for many years. 

Evil of Sensational Literature* 

The thrilling and unreal type of love-story should be kept 
out of sight. And the only way to prevent an eager unfolding 



THE UNFOLDING OF WOMANHOOD. 91 

mind from laying hold of whatever comes in reach is to fore- 
stall the sensational literature with good reading. That class 
of story or biography which will aid in forming a wholesome 
ideal should be placed at hand and discussed so that the 
anxious young one will wish for self-investigation. 

A taste for what is good in literature is as easily cultivated 
as a pernicious appetite, and is one of the most powerful aids 
in developing good thoughts and a good vocabulary. 

Another of the chiefest principles to teach by example and 
precept is the duty of cheerfulness. Ella Wheeler's poem, 
"Laugh and the world laughs with you," rests upon the basic 
principle that cheerfulness is one of the beneficent laws of be- 
ing. Health to one's self and joy to one's friends come from 
cheerfulness, which goes hand-in-hand with kindness. 

Of one of the minor characters in "Adam Bede" George 
Eliot said : "His was one of those large-hearted, sweet-blooded 
natures that never know a x narrow or a grudging thought ; 
of a sufficiently subtle moral fiber to have an unwearying 
tenderness for obscure and monotone suffering." Those na- 
tures which carry an atmosphere of kindly cheerfulness are 
the graces of the world, the multiplication of which is sorely 
needed. 

In instilling these beauties into the warp and woof of char- 
acter, one must begin away back in infancy and teach the rec- 
ognition of things joyous, and the non-recognition of the un- 
pleasant things. The reverse is usually the rule. The com- 
mon cry is, "How can I not recognize and bemoan that which 
goes wrong?" By simply not doing so, my sister woman. We 
become like that upon which our hearts are most fixed. And 
it is ungenerous to a child to allow the unpleasant features of 
the pathway of life to stand out most prominently. Emer- 
son, the wise prophet, said: "There is no beautifier of com- 



92 THE UNFOLDING OF WOMANHOOD. 

plexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and 
not pain around us." If we learn to search for the joyous in 
life for ourselves it will, in greater or less degree, be com- 
municated to those with whom we come in contact. What- 
ever mood we set forth will unerringly return; if joy is scat- 
tered, joy comes back; if ill-natured pessimism goes from us, it 
rebounds in despondency. Earth's lovable children are those 
who possess cheerfulness either through heredity or cultiva- 
tion. 

"Gather, then, each flower that grows, 
When the young heart overflows." 

Nothing is misery unless our weakness makes it so. 
Character Formed by Training* 

Equilibrium of character is generated by training the fem- 
inine faculties toward the work that shall be hers. 

As in the past, so largely in the present, a boy is taught to 
consider what he shall do — the girl whom she shall marry. And 
marriage is just as likely the lot of the boy as of the girl. This 
is training the girl to make capital of her sex, and is one of the 
bars to social evolution. Marriage should not be the business 
of a girl's life — no more than that of her brother's. This rela- 
tion has its own beautiful place, but it is a condition and not 
a business. 

A young woman who makes of herself the best possible 
being, physically, morally, mentally, socially, is fitting herself 
for a possible wifehood and motherhood. This is true of her 
brother. Both will study specifically what parenthood means 
before the condition is theirs to live. Motherhood and wife- 
hood have their embryonic germs in every normal girl. And 
the best parents develop from the young of both sexes who love 
the real beauties of life, which include babies. 



THE UNFOLDING OF WOMANHOOD. 93 

Specialized taste for some branch of industry will begin 
manifesting itself when the influx of the larger life is distinctly 
felt. Aspirations begin flitting through the brain. Chance 
dream follows chance dream, until a final preference is made 
after due consideration of the matter. Then all the thoughts 
and acts are shaped with reference thereto, and, as Fra Elbertus 
says, "without violence or direction the goal is reached. ,, . The 
ideal begins to be lived. All effort which has the inspiration 
of hope and love uplifts the character. Just in the proportion 
that work is made interesting and pleasant will there be 
progress. 

The Equality of the Sexes* 

An age-long theory or superstition held women to be the 
inferiors of men ; but in proof that there is growth and progress 
many women are breaking away from the restraints that have 
held them, and are demonstrating their ability to stand alone 
as far as intellectual development and the power of self-sus- 
tainment goes. 

It is the law, however, that men and women cannot be 
wholly independent of each other. "Male and female created 
He them." From the good which is the outgrowth of their 
true relations is generated soil for the growth of each along 
their independent lines of work. A reverent consideration of 
this law is one of earth's sore needs. Young people, young 
girls, should be so imbued with high feeling for this depart- 
ment of being that they would not speak carelessly of it, nor 
drag it through the mire of thoughtless jest. These be mat- 
ters for the sanctuary of the holy of holies. 

Most of the relationships between the social throng of 
men and women are as honest friends and comrades. The 
past generations were wont to regard every man as the possi- 
ble enemy of every woman's virtue, and that the weaker sex 



94 THE UNFOLDING OF WOMANHOOD. 

must be constantly on the defensive. In the old-world coun- 
tries this is yet largely true. But in the glad time when all 
the youth are enlightened as to the real functions of manhood 
and womanhood, adaptability and attraction will be the only 
basis for union, and this will be true marriage. The human 
relation can be then more beautifully upheld without the idea 
of sex-difference constantly obtruding itself. 

There is nothing to fear in truth, and the unfolding of 
womanhood is best shielded and guarded when there is con- 
scious knowledge of the glorious possibilities inherent in the 
quality of sex, which in every human being holds the balance 
of power. 



PART L 




CHAPTER VI. 

The Fulfillment of the Law. 

FTER the unfolding of the flower of womanhood, 
the next progressive step in femininity is the dis- 
covery of the other one whose being shall be comple- 
mentary to her own. She who is most truly woman 
will naturally be much attracted by masculine society, but if 
her mind has been so carefully trained that the self-poise and 
dignity of womanhood is understood, she will not lend herself 
to promiscuous affairs of the heart. Until mind and body are 
fully matured only the spirit of comradery should prevail be- 
tween the young. Under hot-house unfoldment the powers of 
sex are not hardy, and are most liable to misappropriation, be- 
cause reason and judgment have not proportionately developed. 
But love is the fulfillment of the law. It is the second round in 
the ladder of progress, and must permeate every avenue of life 
for man and woman as the warm glow of the sun thrills the 
world of matter, or growth is retarded. 

Emerson on Love. 

Emerson says: "Love is omnipresent in nature as motive 
and reward. Love is our highest word and the synonym of 
God. 

c * * * It is a fire that, kindling its first embers in the 
narrow nook of a private bosom, caught from a wandering 
spark out of another private heart, grows and enlarges until it 

95 



96 THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW. 

warms and beams "upon multitudes of men and women, upon 
the universal heart of all, and so lights up the whole world and 
all nature with its generous flame. It matters not whether we 
attempt to describe the passion at twenty, at thirty, or at eighty 
years. He who paints it at the first period will lose some of 
its later ; he who paints it at the last, some of the earlier traits. 
Only it is to be hoped that by patience and the muses' aid we 
may attain to that inward view of the law which shall describe 
a truth ever young, ever beautiful, so central that it shall com- 
mend itself to the eye, at whatever angle beholden. ,, 

In the same essay Emerson asserts that this is preparation 
"for a love which knows not sex, nor person, nor partiality, but 
which seeketh virtue and wisdom everywhere, to the end of 
increasing virtue and wisdom." 

It seems a simple thing to love and be loved; but it is so 
only in seeming. In reality it is one of the serious questions 
how properly to align one's self with this universal law. It is 
a subject open to sincere study. One of the present-day writers 
says: 

"Ideal marriage, barring that of a blind man and deaf mute, 
is rare. It is the ante-nuptial condition that is charmful. That 
the post-nuptial state should be occasionally different is but 
natural. It is easier to be a lover than it is to be a husband — 
or even a wife — for the same reason that it is easier to be witty 
now and then than all the time. 

"Yet, like the ideal marriage, the lover who knows his 
business is rare. That business consists in never seeing or 
hearing anything which was not intended for him. He is not 
only near-sighted and hard of hearing — he is wise. He is 
aware that affections are like slippers — they will wear out. 
When they do he takes off his hat and wishes the lady God- 
speed — an attribute parenthetically which is the surest way to 



THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW. 97 

detain her. In circumstances such as these the man who does 
not know his business loses his head, and loses it not because 
he has lost his lady's heart, but because her heart happened to 
be different from what he thought it. He had his ideal of her 
and feels that he has been swindled. No one likes that. And 
yet the swindle may be entirely his own. 

"A woman, too, has ideals. It is not sacrifices she wants, but 
sympathy, the companionship of one whose likes are hers, 
whose dislikes she can share, and, as now and again occurs, she 
discovers that the man whom she took to be the possessor of 
these attributes is merely an individual who has the power to 
exasperate her at every angle of life. It is then that she packs 
up her heart and he fails to take off his hat. 

"A condition of affairs such as that, without being epidemic, 
is common enough. To remedy it there is a choice between the 
Chinese system and higher education." 

Need of the Higher Education. 

It is the higher education — that which quickens mind and 
spirit — that is needed ; a knowledge of some of the underlying 
principles of the attractiveness between men and women. The 
completeness each growing soul longs for is attained by a 
man and a woman. Each should contribute toward oneness, 
by careful cultivation of the flower of love, and by reaching 
out for unfoldment toward those things that are good and 
true and beautiful. 

The Yale professor who called forth many vials of wrath 
upon himself by saying not ten per cent of married people real- 
ized their ante-nuptial ideals, was not far from the right. Few 
young people who marry have clear-cut ideals. They, in a 
hazy, uncertain way, expect marriage with a beloved one to 
yield joy complete; when, according to the law of progress, 



98 THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW. 

the mere fact of marriage cannot render one completely happy. 
By assuming this relation they are placed in position for 
proper advancement, providing it is in accordance with natural 
selection. Then, as a beautiful plant is watched and cared for, 
so must be the attraction which drew together man and wife. 
It cannot be left to care for itself in the present world of 
storm, stress and adversity, or it will surely die. 

The old-time idea that marriage removed the taint of sen- 
suality is worn out. As Lady Cook said, "If one were driven 
into a corner for an argument against the existing marriage 
system, it would only be necessary to refer to the records of 
the divorce courts during one short year/' But even the di- 
vorce courts are signs that "the world do move/' Whereas 
marriage formerly meant a union for life "for better or for 
worse," it is now beginning to mean, if not for better, not at 
all. Higher social conditions mean higher ideals ; and, though 
the social fabric is now in the throes of change from a lower to 
a higher standard, all evidence points to the bettering of lines 
in and upon which we live and move. 

Teaching: the Laws of Life* 

Preparation for a thorough understanding of life's laws 
must begin as soon as a child manifests any desire to know 
of the origin of life. Then the growth of knowledge on this 
most beneficent department of nature will be uniform with 
growth in other directions. Abnormality in the sexual appe- 
tite is thereby forestalled. The first lesson continues until 
the approach of puberty ; then the second lesson as to the 
physical and psychical changes which will take place is in 
order. The home should be the place — 

"Where children are taught to be laws unto themselves and 
to depend on themselves." 



THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW. 99 

The third lesson for the young may deal with the question 
of mating. If the first instructions have been what they should 
be and have led the young mind above and outside of itself, 
this pregnant step in advancement will not be so difficult to 
approach as it seems. Parents are very much aided by having 
a wise selection of books at hand. When this question has 
suggested itself in perspective, the youthful mind seizes upon 
all manner of means for enlightenment. To the shame of 
humankind be it said that all knowledge on this subject of 
mating in past generations had to be received from concealed 
or unholy sources. As Dr. Wilcox says, "A good book on 
the physiology and ethics of the sex life ought not to be out of 
place on the center table or the mantel. ,, When we are able 
to live the regenerate life, all possible light will not be out of 
place in the family circle. In fact it will go along with other 
instruction which tends to keep the windows of the soul open 
heavenward. 

A young woman who has not lived a life isolated from the 
other sex is more in command of her powers in men's presence 
than she who> has been kept away from them. It is a very 
frequent occurrence that girls released from a convent educa- 
tion heedlessly marry the first importunate suitor. She yields 
to the inscrutable attraction of the sexes without analysis of her 
feelings, or what the estate of marriage may mean. "Friend- 
ship fills the background of all true love," says the author of 
"Ethical Marriage," "and those lovers who are unacquainted 
with friendship's austere sincerity are in the thrall of animal 
passion. Marriage is a permanent companionship for purpose- 
ful work and healthful play, and it is idle to enter into it un- 
less the parties to it are moved by the strong force of tested and 
faithful friendship." 

Acquaintance with aims and desires aids each of a pair of 



100 THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW. 

lovers to know whether they can co-operate. They must know 
whether they can comprehend each other's ideals and efforts to 
their attainment. 

A Brilliant Frenchman's View* 

Max O'Rell said: "A woman should marry young, very 
young even, so that her husband shall enjoy all the different 
phases of her beauty from the beauty of her girlhood to that 
of second youth, or matronly beauty, which, to my mind, is 
best of all. It is perhaps at forty that a woman is most strik- 
ingly handsome ; invariably so when she has taken care of her- 
self and has been loved and petted by husband and children 
alike. It is then that she knows how to make the best of 
herself, that she best understands how to exercise her gifts and 
charms in the most effective manner." 

To men he said : "Never marry a woman richer than you, 
or one older than you. Be always gently superior to your 
wife in fortune, in size and age, so that in every possible way 
she may appeal to you for help or protection, either through 
your purse, your strength or your experience in life. Marry 
her at an age that will always enable you to play with her all 
the different characteristic parts of a husband, a chum, a lover, 
an adviser, a protector and just a tiny suspicion of a father." 

A German Opinion, 

This is a Frenchman's point of view. Another from a Ger- 
man point of view is truer from the idea of equality : "Mar- 
riage is more than the means of setting up housekeeping and 
founding a family; the upward striving toward perfection is 
more than a dark longing for an object that may agreeably 
occupy the emotions and the imagination. It is the longing 
equivalent to a noble life, toward the perfection of our being 



THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW. 101 

through the union with a being in harmony with ourselves; 
toward the complete satisfaction of our personality by becom- 
ing one with another personality, by a blending of souls that 
perfects both as the blending of two metals results in a third 
that is superior to and more endurable than either alone. It 
is finally the need that every nobler individual feels for the 
realization of the ideal, a realization we look for in vain in 
every direction and which life can offer us nowhere but in 
true love. Whithersoever a man's fancy, his discoveries, or 
aspirations, may lead him, nothing in the whole domain of 
nature can take the place of the relationship that true love 
unfolds to two thinking and harmonious beings. Such love 
is true life." 

A great many of the considerations for a correct marriage 
should, while the heart is fancy-free, be kept well to the fore. 
It almost goes without saying that mental tastes should be 
similar. Very much marital misery is occasioned through 
lack of balance here. The science of phrenology often aids 
young people to find companions of suitable mental caliber. 

Mental Adaptation, or Harmony* 

The following on mental harmony is from Dr. Foote : 
"Mental adaptation, in marriage, consists in at least an ap- 
proximate correspondence in the tastes, sentiments and pro- 
pensities of husband and wife. * * * The possession of 
high moral and religious sentiments by one and a total destitu- 
tion of them in the other is frequently the cause of matrimonial 
discords and separations. How can a pious wife enjoy the 
society of a husband who forbids her devotional exercises? 
How can a devotional husband have a wife who neither sympa- 
thizes with nor participates in his religious sentiments, while 



102 THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW. 

by precept and example she trains up his children regardless of 
his cherished principles ? 

"The organ of inhabitiveness when largely developed gives 
attachment to home and love of country. A wife possessing a 
full development of this organ can never live happily with a 
husband whose inhabitiveness is small. He will ever be on the 
move, like the rolling stone, and his wife must sacrifice her love 
of home and a permanent location by following in his wake, or 
else let him go, and content herself in loneliness. 

" * * * The organ of philoprogenitiveness makes its pos- 
sessor very fond of children. If the wife has this faculty small 
and the husband large, the latter is decidedly inclined to find 
fault with her management of the children, and bickerings arise 
from this cause. * * * As the principal training and care 
of a child devolves upon the mother, large philoprogenitiveness 
is more essential to her. 

"Adhesiveness is an organ that begets powerful attachments. 
It is the chief prompter of a platonic love. It leads the person 
to seek the society of those who have similar proclivities, and 
seals congenial acquaintance with enduring -friendship. If 
the husband lacks this quality of mind the wife ever laments 
his want of fraternal affection — feels that he married her 
more for the gratification of his animal desires than for her 
society. If the wife is destitute of this organ she is generally 
cold and repulsive, except when aroused by amative excite- 
ment. 

"Many husbands and wives possess an equal development of 
the organ of amativeness, and still have not the necessary 
physical adaptation to make each other happy. Two persons 
may possess an equal development of the organ of adhesiveness 
and yet fail to become friends for want of congeniality in 
other respects. * * * 



THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW. 103 

'The intellectual powers should be about equal, however di- 
verse in character; no wife can respect a husband who is 
inferior, and without respect there is no real love. Nor can 
any intelligent husband enjoy the society of a wife who is 
ignorant and perhaps uncouth. * * * 

"Passional love, which warms up only at intervals, can not 
long render the pair blind to mental disparity. And then, too, 
where passion has been the governing attraction, and age cools 
down the impulses of early manhood and womanhood, nothing 
is left to render their matrimonial relations even tolerable. 
* * * There must also exist that mental and moral con- 
geniality which produces powerful friendship — friendship 
which would be deep and lasting were sexual considerations 
unthought of." 

The Law of Physical Adaptation* 

In physical characteristics by which temperaments are made 
manifest the law of opposites rules. The dark should mate 
with the fair, the plump with the slender, the tall with the 
short. The thoroughly feminine admires the thoroughly mas- 
culine. To observe these things is to be placed in harmony 
with natural law, which, Henry Wood says, "is a loving force, 
persistent, reliable, always in its place and pressing to do its 
work." Furthermore he says : "It is this invariableness which 
enables us to use it and make it serviceable. While, therefore, 
it is true we are always under its sovereignty, it is no less a 
fact that when we comply with its conditions it becomes our 
most valuable and indispensable co-worker. Its powerful aid, 
like that of steam or electricity, is always in waiting, only we 
must not dictate its methods of operation." 

Having aligned ourselves with natural law, it will then do 
its perfect work. Those whose aspirations lead them upward 



104 THE FULFILLMENT OF TFIE LAW. 

through the fields of progress soon attain to the point where 
the fact of sex is seldom asserted. We may know the law — 
male and female created He them — know the associations are 
necessary, therefore good, adjust ourselves to the conditions 
and think no more about them. It is only on the basis of clean- 
ness that honor between men and women may be realized. 

Purity of Thought a Requisite^ 

Young persons in pursuit of the fulfillment of the law must 
come into the wholesomeness of purity of thought. When this 
has been gained, the opposite sexes can discuss questions re- 
lating to the estate of marriage without self-consciousness or 
false modesty. 

Mrs. Whitney says : "In olden times and under the olden 
civilizations which continue unchanged in oriental countries 
up to the present time, there was not a thought that men and 
women could associate on intimate terms in honorable relations 
as friends and companions and helpers. The idea is, perhaps, 
the prevalent one throughout the world. But there is a higher, 
truer, purer idea in the minds of the best people, and the inter- 
course of men and women in business and professions and 
reforms is demonstrating it to be a fact that they can associate 
on the human plane and help each other and work together 
with no thought of their difference in sex. 

"*•_*_* In the old dispensation, to man every woman 
was a possible victim, and to woman every man was an enemy, 
and she could maintain her virtue only by constant vigilance 
and a war of defense. In contrast with this see the pure 
chivalry of the best men of our time, which is met by the 
most complete confidence of the best women." 

To the pure in mind all things are pure. It has never been 
wise to ignore creative law, and in the present day it is not 



THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW. 105 

forgivable. The holiest relation of the sexes must be placed 
beyond the question of commercial or social advantage, and 
comply with natural selection and the deepest needs of human- 
ity. Marriage must come to be arranged with reference to 
inner needs. While its failures cause it to be a debatable ques- 
tion, yet so long as sympathy, companionship, affection and 
co-operation are deep soul-longings the experiment of mating 
will be apt to go on. 

Let the propensities of human nature be guided by the better 
self, and they will give strength for the attainment of all that 
is worth striving for. 

Love must be acknowledged as a fact, and as a controlling 
factor in proper living. The more fully it is expressed the 
richer becomes individual life, and the benediction is shed on all 
who come within the circle of its radiance. 

"That love for one from which there doth not spring 
Wide love for all is but a worthless thing." — Lowell. 



PARTI. 




CHAPTER VII. 

The Fruits of Fulfillment 

j HE great sun in the soul-heavens is love; love 
the fulfillment of the law, the quickener of the pow- 
ers of being. The fruits of fulfillment are as varied 
as in the objective world, where growth depends on 
the amount of sunlight received. But in this connection the 
fruits of fulfilling the law will be considered in the specific 
sense of the mating of one man and one woman. The higher 
conception of the term marriage is beyond and wholly out- 
side of any legal enactment. People may place themselves in 
harmony with external conditions by going through the forms 
necessary for public recognition of a purely personal and 
private relation, but the mere "I-pronounce-you-man-and- 
wife" is not marriage. Perfect marriage can only be based 
upon attraction and natural adaptability. 

The fruits of love in marriage may be said to be growth 
and development of the united pair, and offspring. If there 
is not a true union there should be no children. Homes of 
inharmony produce the cross-grained and contentious of the 
world — which results are retarding progress. 

Happiness in the marriage relation is often marred by 
trifles, whose inroads are so slow they are not noticed until 
almost too late to mend. Jesting leads sometimes to quarrel- 
ing, thence to misunderstandings and lack of confidence. There 

106 



THE FRUITS OF FULFILLMENT. 107 

must be a broad basis of friendly confidence, so that misun- 
derstandings, slights, irritability of temperament, can be dis- 
cussed with a view to future prevention. 

A Wise Woman's Experience* 

Fowler quotes a lady as saying: "When I married only 
one point of similarity and sympathy existed between myself 
and husband. I soon found that discussing our differences 
only aggravated them, and adopted this inflexible rule : never 
to argue points of dissimilarity, but simply to establish har- 
mony on the one point on which we agreed. This soon cre- 
ated concord on another keynote, cherishing which soon 
brought us into union upon a third, and so on till now every 
discordant note has become concordant, and we live most 
happily." Wise woman that. 

Many who are able to win a heart's best love seem unable 
to retain it after the first few weeks of wedded life. And 
this is largely due to a lowering of the standard of behavior. 
The outside legal tie is made to serve in place of the com- 
manding of mutual respect through the manifestations of true 
manliness and womanliness. 

If the affairs of marriage have not been discussed during 
the days of courtship, two people can hardly realize what the 
ideals of each other may be. No pair is fit for marriage who 
cannot frankly and fully discuss the relation of the sexes, and 
the duties each bears to the other. Kindness, courtesy, unself- 
ishness must needs be practiced by both more unfailingly after 
the I-pronounce-you than before. 

A popular fallacy is that marriage removes a pair from the 
close friendships of friends. Not infrequently one hears that 
a husband or wife is jealous of friends. Jealousy is a green- 
eyed monster that makes the food it feeds upon. No well- 



108 THE FRUITS OF FULFILLMENT. 

balanced person but has the power to lift himself to a plane 
so high that jealousy can not obtrude. The duties of matri- 
mony must not close the door to the larger life of friendship, 
or the avenues for growth are closed. Of this Professor Wil- 
cox says : "It is the orthodox doctrine of marriage under the 
present regime ot romance mat lovers and married people 
should find in each other the sufficient satisfaction of every 
legitimate want. It is supposed that once a life alliance is 
made the legitimate function of friendship is fulfilled, and 
that straightway correspondences must be closed and that 
personal relationships must be broken off in order that love 
and duty may be concentrated in the home. Friendships may, 
perhaps, be outgrown by the divergence in interests and ideals, 
but the mere fact of betrothal or marriage furnishes the most 
absurd of reasons for cutting any vital cord of sympathy or 
co-operation that may exist between any two persons in the 
world. Who believes that marriage thrives on isolation ? that 
a woman will be a better wife and mother if she enters into 
the soul-life of only one man? that a man will be a better 
husband and father if he cherish the sympathy of only one 
woman ? True, the home calls for specialization of effort and 
care, but every specialization brings with it more and more 
dependence on outside relationships. The household life will 
be self-consuming if it is not fed by wider associations. Every 
friendship of husband and wife will add riches to the home 
store. 

"Friendships are the spiritual doors and windows of the 
home through which the universal light and air find entrance. ,, 

Progress is one of the laws that must be recognized to 
make wedded life all it should be. To close all the avenues of 
good that outside atmosphere can bring, encourages narrow- 



THE FRUITS OF FULFILLMENT. 109 

ness and selfishness, two negative qualities we must strive 
against. 

The Unfoldment of Family Life* 

Were each to understand the words, "You must grow to 
new heights if I love you tomorrow, " neither would dare, for 
dear love's sake, to settle down to the mental and moral lassi- 
tude so common in marriage. Family life, to be profitable to 
the members of which it is made up, must unfold in mental, 
moral and material strength. Its power is hampered if de- 
velopment is only on one or two lines. 

The tendency of the times is toward small families of 
children. Fewer children and better is a good motto; espe- 
cially should they be few if parents do not know the laws of 
life well enough to insure better ones. 

Mutual attachment of parents is more firmly cemented by 
children in the home. A natural need of the individual is 
gratified in true family relations, which enables the souls of 
its members to expand and grow like leaves in the sunshine. 
"The woman is to the man only the complement of his being, 
in and with whom he begins to live his complete life,'' said 
Heingen. Vice versa. Again this philosopher tells us : "The 
family is inconceivable without real marriage, marriage is in- 
conceivable without love, and love can no longer be distin- 
guished from prostitution when the bond of union is vitiated 
by compulsion. If propagation is to have an ethical signifi- 
cance and ethical consequence it must not proceed on the plane 
of bestial association, and just as little in false or forced rela- 
tionships. Every child that springs from a union which would 
have ceased had not external considerations or binding fetters 
held it together, transmits the curse of the misfortune and of 
the immorality to the next generation." 



110 THE FRUITS OF FULFILLMENT. 

The requisite for having well-born babies is, according to 
Dr. Elliott : 

First. That the parents be well-mated. 

Second. That they are in a condition of health. 

Third. That their own tendencies to evil have been over- 
come to the best of their ability. 

Fourth. That they should take advantage of the molding 
powers of prenatal influences. 

Grant Allen said : "It is good for every man among us 
that he and every other man should be as strong, as well-knit, 
as supple, as wholesome, as effective, as free from vice or 
defect as possible. We see clearly that it is his first duty to 
make his own muscles, his own organs, his own bodily func- 
tions, as perfect as he can make them, and to transmit them 
in like perfection unspoiled to his descendants. We see clearly 
that it is good for every woman among us that she and every 
other woman should be as physically developed and as finely 
equipped for her place as mother as it is possible to make her- 
self. * * * We see that to prepare ourselves for the du- 
ties of paternity and maternity by making ourselves as vigor- 
ous and healthful as we can be is a duty we all owe to our 
children unborn and to one another.' ' 

To be our best selves, then, is to be properly prepared for 
parenthood. Wise and loving generation only can lift the 
status of civilization. 

The Complementary Life of Marriage* 

The complementary life which well-mated pairs are ena- 
bled to live is another of the fruits of fulfilling the law of love. 

"For woman is not undeveloped man, 
But diverse : coul^ we make her as the man, 
Sweet love were slain : his dearest bond is this, 
Not like to like, but like in difference." 



THE FRUITS OF FULFILLMENT. Ill 

One supplies deficiencies of the other. Harmonious men- 
tal and moral growth rests upon the integrity of conjugal 
love-life; which thought brings us to the consideration of 
means for preserving the male and female attraction each 
must at some time have held for the other in order to assume 
the marriage relation. 

Two views held on this subject, — which differ only in 
the degree of expression of creative life, — are well worth 
intelligent thought. 

The first is that complete blending of the sexual natures is 
only proper and necessary where propagation is desired. Dr. 
Cowan and Professor Fowler are notable among the older 
writers on the subject. One of Fowler's illustrations is the 
following : 

"A and B have an equal amount of sexuality. A con- 
sumes his in coition, which leaves his voice, manners, posture, 
spirit, intellect, etc., bereft of it. B continently retains his, 
only to have it worked off in imparting sex to his voice, walk, 
actions, etc. ; nobleness and courage to his feelings, with gal- 
lantry to women and admiration and love to the sex, and that 
treatment that wins their regard. You can't consume your 
sexual cake in both forms. Choose whether you will do so in 
the animal or in those nobler aspects of masculinity." 

The creative life consumed in frequent intercourse is in- 
jurious, robbing a wedded pair of the essential principle for 
preserving the gentleness and courtesy due one another. Love 
expressed in kindliness, in kisses and caresses, yields the neces- 
sary element the sexes have for each other. Love expressed 
only in the sexual embrace to the full propagative act yields 
less than the vitality it consumes, besides making a chance con- 
ception probable. 



112 THE FRUITS OF FULFILLMENT. 

Continence the Low of Love, 

Fowler asserts that no semen is deposited in the seminal 
vesicles if the mind is held above the animal plane. "Conti- 
nence," he says, "except in wedlock, and then only to propa- 
gate, is therefore the natural law of love." 

Dr. Cowan advocated procreation every three years; 
Fowler every two years; others only so often as children are 
desired, be it live or ten years. 

Other humanitarians advocate the possibility and the de- 
sirability of , the conjugal embrace, provided it is not allowed' 
to go beyond the bounds of a love embrace and be made propa- 
gative. In this sacrament of blending there must be no haste, 
no animality — just a quiet exaltation of the entire being of 
that twain who are one flesh. The nervous spasm called the 
orgasm is avoided; therefore all danger of chance conception 
is forestalled. This alone is immeasurably desirable to every 
wife, and should be equally as much to husbands. 

Preventives to Conception* 

The use of prevalent preventives to conception is also 
done away with through this method of expression. Few 
preventives are absolutely sure; and, truly, the use of any 
such blurs the spirituality of conjugal love. The full, free 
blending of the male and female life, — spiritual, emotional 
and physical, — without fear of results, is productive of such 
beneficent powers for activity no married lovers will ever 
return to the animal plane who once taste of its blessings. 

One of the later-day writers says : "Given abundant time 
and mutual reciprocity, the interchange becomes satisfactory 
and complete without emission or crisis by either party. In 
the course of an hour the physical tension subsides, the spir- 
itual exaltation increases, and not uncommonly visions of a 



THE FRUITS OF FULFILLMENT. 113 

transcendent life are seen, and consciousness of new powers 
are experienced.' ' 

Another says: "When married people once learn how to 
enjoy the sexual association according to this method, they 
will not wish to do otherwise, except by design, for the pur- 
pose of securing offspring. Many barren women have be- 
come capable of bearing children through the strength ob- 
tained by practice of this method of union." 

An eminent physician has given it as his opinion that the 
widespread habits of using tobacco, alcohol and other stimu- 
lants have rise in the waste of vital force in incontinence in 
marriage and out. These habits act and re-act on each other 
so that it is rare to find a person defiling the temple of the 
soul by one means alone. Any one of these habits robs an in- 
dividual of power to think and will to do that which is in 
harmony with good old mother Nature, and therefore right. 

The truly mated wise enough to preserve the sweetness 
and warmth of honeymoon days will be comrades and lovers. 

The Old, Sweet Story, Always New, 

The old, old story is always fresher and sweeter with each 
telling if kind and courteous acts testify to the truth of the 
words. Time never has lessened the need of the human soul 
for affection, nor dimmed the necessity of blending of the 
sexes. Those matured people who are deprived or deprive 
themselves of this indispensable element may be recognized by 
the hardness of feature and dearth of kindly deeds. Men 
sometimes allow the pursuit of wealth to absorb them to the 
exclusion of the wine of life, which is love. They forget to be 
lovers to their wives and fathers to their babies. It has been 
said that there are more restless women between the ages 
of thirty-five and fifty than of younger years. There are, of 



114 THE FRUITS OF FULFILLMENT. 

course, causes for this condition. The widowed, the mis- 
mated, the unloved — alas the day! — are in the majority. Many 
of them — perhaps most of them — are unfitted by nature or 
training to do life's battles. Many who think women should 
have a purpose in life besides her female relationship to so- 
ciety, are met with opposition in the family or among friends, 
so that desire to do is frustrated, unless there is the strength 
to override obstacles. One disappointed little woman said 
this : "I do not exactly know what is meant by a 'career,' but 
I think it must be that thing which lies nearest your heart; 
that most sacred of all endowments of the Divine Creator. 
But because your wisdom is so much inferior to< His you 
know it is one which should not have been given you, and 
which you must crush out, as He certainly made a mistake in 
giving it to you, and it is not meant for your well-being. It 
is that thing which, when you think of its perfect fulfillment, 
causes a lump to come into your breast and rise up and up till 
it stops your breath and fairly chokes you, and you gasp and 
say, 'Oh, if it could only be ! '" 

Another who had the talent to write beautiful, helpful 
stories — who has written for the best periodicals — is allowing 
her powers to lie unused because- her husband insists on her 
being just his wife — and the superintendent of his household. 
Such cases as this illustrate what Spencer says about unselfish- 
ness being harmful beyond a certain degree. Talents are to 
be used, and used in their natural bent. They must not be 
given up because some one else, without rhyme or reason, in- 
sists upon it. Women can and should follow their life-work 
as well as their brother, man. The woman with an occupation 
suitable to her desires and liking will not be among the restless 
and unsettled. Even if her love-life has not fulfilled its best 
promises, the channel can be turned into universal love for 



THE FRUITS OF FULFILLMENT. 115 

all creatures, and joy and hope gleaned therefrom. There 
is no excuse for that selfishness which, because one has met 
obstacles, or has been bereaved, causes one to retire into one's 
self and grieve. The only panacea for any grief is activity, 
which takes consciousness outside of one's self. Those who 
hold for long at trials or obstacles miss the proper moral exer- 
cise for strengthening character. All heights are accessible to 
her or him who will work for success. 

pra Elbertus says : "The man who thinks out what he 
wants to do, and then works, and works hard, will win; and 
no others do, or ever have, or can — God will not have it so." 



PART I. 



CHAPTER VIII. 




cstablished. 



Home and Home-Making. 

HILE society can not be considered as frag- 
mentary, with divided interests, yet there are 
individual needs to be satisfied for individual 
weal. In response to these needs, home was 
Every human being has need of a habitation 
where there is repose for mind and body ; where private atten- 
tion may be given to individual tastes and necessities; where 
habits may be trained that will help to form character, until 
the human mind can know itself, and so be beyond the power 
of habit. 

Home life does not necessarily mean married life. Man, in 
common with all higher animals, has "the homestead instinct," 
which is associated with the natural desire for domestic pri- 
vacy. Following instinctive want of a place of safety, of a 
place in which to rear a brood of offspring, home became an 
institution. 

The majority of homes are made up of father, mother, and 
children; and where the binding tie is love, and there is har- 
mony and progress, it is the ideal place of refuge. But the 
detached members of families have the home instinct the same 
as their more fortunate brethren and sisters, and the sense of 
being unsettled often leads to ill-considered marriages. For 
this reason it is always well for two, or three, or more, con- 

116 



HOME AND HOME-MAKING. 117 

genial people to set up for themselves their household gods, 
until the right opportunity comes for marriage. Boarding- 
houses and hotels have been made to serve for these parts of 
families, and sometimes for families, but it is very seldom 
a sense of hominess pervades their atmosphere. 

The more progressive of "bachelor girls" have begun to 
establish households and live as befit creatures of civilization. 
The bachelor man, somewhat in advance of his sisters, has 
been doing the same. Conservative society sometimes arouses 
itself sufficiently to object to these unmarried households, on 
the ground that they interfere with the founding of family 
homes. This is only true as far as the inferior, or the not 
true, marriage is concerned. Attraction between the sexes is a 
fact in nature. It is a law that no private arrangement of 
humankind can set aside; and if bachelor households shall do 
away with marriages of convenience, the more of them the 
better. 

At the present stage of development, home life largely suf- 
fers because of unskilled management. The kind of skill need- 
ful to adjust affairs successfully has not been considered nec- 
essary to train for, and, as Mrs. Stetson says, "there are sever- 
al professions involved in our clumsy method of housekeeping. 
A good cook is not necessarily a good manager, nor a good 
manager an accurate and thorough cleaner, nor a good cleaner 
a wise purchaser. Under the free development of these 
branches a woman would choose her profession, train for it 
and become a most valuable functionary in her own branch, all 
the while living in her own home; that is, she would live in 
it as a man lives in his home, spending certain hours of the 
day at work and others at home.' , 

The onward march of progress has led woman outside of 
the four walls of home and the work of the church. Fifty 



118 HOME AND HOME-MAKING. 

years ago, very few avenues were open for the expression of 
woman's activities outside of the household. To be self-sus- 
taining had a sound of something improper. "Has she no 
man to keep her?" But the growing spirit of freedom causes 
the able-bodied, wholesome-minded woman not to want to be 
"kept." She desires to be strong and secure in her own 
strength as a human, and not to be "taken care of" as an 
adjunct of the masculine sex. 

The Changes of a Century* 

The following by Mrs. Sangster expresses the changes the 
past century brought about for woman : 

"In nothing is the march of progress more evident than in 
the present attitude of woman toward life, as compared with 
the point of view of her predecessor. The change is as marked 
as that from the candles of the opening nineteenth to the elec- 
tric lights of the opening twentieth century. A hundred years 
ago woman was a timid being, to be sheltered and protected, 
to be worshiped and complimented, and she lived up to the 
ideal men then held as peculiarly feminine. She had great 
reserves of bravery and patriotism under her delicate exterior 
— for in every age womanhood remains the same in essentials 
— but she by no means met man on equal terms in any field. 
The dawn of the old century found women with few business 
opportunities and somewhat restricted educational privileges. 
Here and there was a learned woman, and many women were 
clever, resourceful and intelligent, but the curriculum designed 
for the sex was less strenuous and less expansive than that of 
today. Few girls went further than the common school, 
topped off with a foam of graceful accomplishments. 

"Marriage was the feminine goal. She who did not marry 
was regarded with compassion as a failure, and her parents 
were openly pitied. After marriage, the average woman re- 



HOME AND HOME-MAKING. 119 

tired into the seclusion of her home, and it is not too much 
to say that at fifty she was frankly old. The young ruled in 
the drawing-room, and the atmosphere was crude in conse- 
quence. Mothers are as needful to society as daughters in 
their bloom, and this the new century acknowledges with 
pride. 

"The woman doctor, the woman lawyer, the woman jour- 
nalist and the trained nurse were unknown when the nine- 
teenth century began. The twentieth would be bewildered 
without them. In the old days, woman's activities were lim- 
ited to home management and church work. Housekeeping 
bristled with various labors. Soap and candles were of domes- 
tic manufacture, crushed sugar was broken off the loaf by the 
bit, there were no sewing-machines, nor wringers, nor station- 
ary tubs, nor could pickles and conserves be purchased. Ready- 
made clothing could not be bought. Nevertheless, this busy 
housewife was a voluminous letter-writer, crossing and re- 
crossing her gossipy sheets to save postage; she was often a 
deft amateur surgeon, and had remedies on hand for the family 
ills. She was a good neighbor and a stanch friend, and her 
manners were formal and elegant. Somehow she had more 
time than we have for little courtesies. 

"In the new century woman's sphere has grown larger. Her 
charities are broader, though less intimate and individual. 
Their objects are greatly multiplied. Among her most benefi- 
cent fads must be classed her zeal for town and city adorn- 
ment, for clean streets, and for reformed ash-barrels. She 
looks after the waifs and strays of civilization, peers into alms- 
house and prison cell, and fights cruelty to dumb animals. 
An inborn and inherited hatred of dirt and disorder leads her 
to combat both wherever she finds them, and her finger is often 
in the municipal pie to its manifest advantage. 



120 HOME AND HOME-MAKING. 

"The most conspicuous fad of the new century woman is 
devotion to athletics. Our girls of today are magnificently 
vital, splendid specimens of health, beauty and endurance; 
they are taller than their mothers, and carry themselves with 
an air of distinction in keeping with their superb stature and 
elastic strength. Outdoor exercise confers on them color, 
grace and vigor; they play the games of the hour with skill 
and audacity, and their wholesome life in the open has given 
them a charm far in excess of semi-individualism and inter- 
esting fragility. The fad of the new century woman is to be 
ready for anything, broadly educated, spiritually enlightened, 
and physically equal to every demand." 



tt 



"Woman's Sphere* 

The forces of inertia, the conservatives, still prate about 
"woman's sphere," and, had they despotic power, would force 
all of womankind to domestic service until the inevitable re- 
bellion would come. 

"If a modern man, with all his intellect and energy and 
resource, were forced to spend all his days hunting with a bow 
and arrow, fishing with a bone-pointed spear, waiting hungrily 
on his traps and snares in hope of prey, he could not bring to 
his children or to his wife the uplifting influences of the true 
manhood of our time," says Mrs. Stetson. "Even if he 
started with a college education, even if he had large books 
to read (when he had time to read them) and improving con- 
versation, still the economic efforts of his life, the steady 
daily pressure of what he had to do for his living, would check 
the growth of higher powers. If all men had to be hunters 
from day to day, the world would be savage still. While all 
women have to be house servants from day to day, we are 
still a servile world. 



HOME AND HOME-MAKING. 121 

"A home life with a dependent mother, a servant wife, is not 
an ennobling influence. We feel this at times. The man, 
spreading and growing with the world's great growth, comes 
home and settles into the tiny talk and fret, or the alluring 
animal comfort of the place, with a distinct sense of coming 
down. It is pleasant, it is gratifying to every sense, it is kept 
warm and soft and pretty to suit the needs of the smaller and 
feebler creature who is forced to stay in it. It is even consid- 
ered a virtue for the man to stay in it and to prize it, to value 
his slippers and his newspaper, his hearth fire and his supper 
table, his spring bed and his clean clothes, above any other in- 
terests. 

"The harm does not lie in loving home and in staying there, 
as one can, but in the kind of home and the kind of woman- 
hood that it fosters ; in the grade of industrial development on 
which it rests.' ' 

If advancement has gone on while working against the ten- 
dency to remain stationary, how much more swiftly will it 
advance after this resistance has been overcome? 

Man and woman cannot, in harmony with nature's laws, 
occupy separate, distinctive spheres of activity. Together an 
energy is generated not possible where working alone. It is 
the force of sex diffusing itself through exertions; the force 
which most often is allowed only to be generated in the draw- 
ing-room and ball-room and which does not there find the best 
avenues for use. 

Haying Time in Scotland* 

The author of "Little Journeys to the Homes of English 
Authors" illustrates this law in the following : 

"The Scotch are great economists — the greatest in the world. 
Adam Smith, the father of the science of economics, was a 



122 HOME AND HOME-MAKING. 

Scotchman, and Draper, author of 'A History of Civilization/ 
flatly declares that Adam Smith's 'Wealth of Nations' has 
influenced the people of earth for good more than any book 
ever written — save none. The Scotch are great conservators 
of energy. 

"The practice of pairing men and women in the hay-field 
gets the work done. One man and woman going down the 
grass-grown path afield might linger and dally by the way. 
They would never make hay, but a company of a dozen or 
more men and women would not only reach the field but would 
do a lot of work. In Scotland the hay-harvest is short — when 
the grass is in bloom, just right to make the best hay, it must 
be cut. And so the men and women, the boys and girls sally 
forth. It is a jolly picnic time, looked forward to with fond 
anticipation, and gazed back upon with sweet, sad memories, 
or otherwise, as the case may be. 

"But they all make hay while the sun shines and count it 
joy. Liberties are allowed during haying time that otherwise 
would be declared scandalous; during haying time the Kirk 
waives her censor's right, and priest and people mingle joy- 
ously. 

"Wives are not jealous during hay-harvest, and husbands 
never fault-finding, because they each get even by allowing a 
mutual license. 

"In Scotland during haying time every married man works 
alongside of some other man's wife-. To the psychologist it is 
somewhat curious how the desire for propriety is overridden 
by a stronger desire — the desire for the shilling. The Scotch 
farmer says 'anything to get the hay in' — and by loosening a 
bit the strict bands of social custom the hay is harvested. 

"In the hay-harvest the law of natural selection holds; and 
trysts continue year after year. Old lovers meet, touch hands 



HOME AND HOME-MAKING. 123 

in a friendly scuffle for a fork, drink from the same jug, recline 
at noon and eat lunch in the shade of a friendly stack and talk 
to heart's content as they Maud Muller on a summer's day. 

"Of course this joyousness of the haying time is not wholly 
monopolized by the Scotch. Haven't you seen the jolly hay- 
ing parties in Southern Germany, France, Switzerland and 
the Tyrol? How the bright costumes of the men and jaunty 
attire of the women gleam in the glad sunshine ! But the prac- 
tice of pairing is carried to a degree of perfection in Scotland 
that I have not noticed elsewhere. Surely it is a great eco- 
nomic scheme! 

"It is like that invention of a Connecticut man which 
utilizes the ebb and flow of the ocean tides to turn a grist-mill. 
And it seems queer that no one has ever attempted to utilize 
the waste of dynamic force involved in the maintenance of the 
company sofa. 

"In Ayrshire I have started out with a haying party of 
twenty — ten men and ten women — at six o'clock in the morn- 
ing, and worked until six at night. I never worked so hard 
or did so much. All day long there was a fire of jolly jokes 
and gibes, interspersed with song, while beneath all ran a 
gentle hum of confidential interchange of thought. The man 
who owned the field was there to direct our efforts and to urge 
us on by merry raillery, threat and joyous rivalry. The point 
in this — we did the work* 

"Take heed, ye Captains of Industry, and note this truth, 
that when men and women work together, under right influ- 
ences, much good is accomplished and the work is pleasur- 
able." 

Energy as expressible through the human family does not 
belong to one sex or the other. Wherever an individual ap- 
proaches the perfection of his kind, through him or her flow 



124 HOME AND HOME-MAKING. 

the forces that lift civilization. Fra Elbertus tells us, "We have' 
been mired in the superstition that sex is unclean, and there- 
fore honesty and expression in love matters have been ta- 
booed. But the day will yet dawn when we will see that it 
takes two to generate thought ; that there is the male man and 
the female man, and only where these two walk together hand 
in hand is there a perfect sanity and a perfect physical, moral 
and spiritual health.' , 

In work, of course, there will be specialization as tastes and 
talents differ, but it must not be that domestic service is 
woman's alone, and all other work man's alone. Woman will 
direct her powers toward that branch whereby she may be of 
the best service, train for it, and thus fill her niche as a 
human factor. 

A writer in the North American Review at the beginning 
of the new century estimates that women occupy seventeen 
per cent of all the occupations. In the face of the difficulties 
to be overcome before being able to get outside of her "sphere" 
this is a very good percentage. This magazine writer takes 
it as an indication of "the moral degeneracy of women," which 
shows that there are yet obstacles being thrown out to bar the 
way of freedom in industrial activity. 

It is no more best that all women should give all their time 
to serving the family than that all men should hunt and fish 
to clothe and feed it. The very inter-relationship of society 
in its varying needs of the present makes diversification neces- 
sary. To do something for others while others do something 
for you is the best point to reach in the social relation. "Blessed 
is the man (or woman) who has found his work." 

Moreover, as an advanced thinker says, "All work is for the 
worker. W T hat becomes of the product of your work and how 
the world receives it matters little. But how you do it is 



HOME AND HOME-IIAKING. 125 

everything. We are what we are, on account of the thoughts 
we have thought and the things we have done. As a muscle 
grows strong only through use, so does every attribute of the 
mind and every quality of the soul take on new strength 
through exercise. And on the other hand, as a muscle not 
used atrophies and dies, so will the faculties of the spirit die 
through disuse. 

"Thus we see why it is very necessary that we should 'exer- 
cise our highest and best. We are making character — building 
soul-fiber ; and no rotten threads must be woven into this web 
of life. 

"Work is for the worker. Can you afford to do slipshod, 
evasive, hypocritical work ? Can you afford to shirk, or make- 
believe, or practice pretense in any act of life? No, no ; for all 
the time you are molding yourself into a deformity and drift- 
ing away from the Divine. What the world does and says 
about you is really no matter, but what you think and what 
you do are questions as vital as fate." 

Home to Unfold the Larger Life. 

That place is not home which is merely a domestic labora- 
tory — a place where are done those things relating wholly to 
the physical. How it shall be changed to unfold the larger 
life is a question exercising the mental faculties' of all who 
wish to assist in the world's social development ; and the riddle 
is being solved. When the newer, better structure is reared 
the old will be deserted, for the better becomes the necessity 
as soon as it is generally recognized. 

The specialization of industries connected with the house- 
hold has begun, as the public laundry, bakery, tailoring and 
dressmaking establishments and eating-houses attest. The 
conservative Pharisees, however, are wont to give themselves 



126 HOME AND HOME-MAKING. 

congratulations and consider others not up to the mark who 
patronize anything outside of home industry for home con- 
sumption. To eat away from home bespeaks wifely "shift- 
lessness" — likewise the consuming of bakery goods and pre- 
pared conserves and pickles, and such. What we are used 
to so easily becomes what we like and must have, until some 
one calls attention to the advantages of different procedure. 

The mental attitude into which we have been trained clings 
tenaciously, so that it is hard to distinguish between those 
things the result of such training and those which are made 
known to us by coming into the light. We are in darkness 
until we begin to think, question and investigate; and then 
the dawning of the light is dazzling until the iris of the mind's 
eye adjusts itself. But "when the judgment's weak the 
prejudice is strong." And with the question of simplifying the 
machinery of home-life the judgment is held back, because 
age-long tradition has photographed upon the public mind 
certain ideals of home hard to efface. "We have always done 
thus and so; therefore, it must always be," has been the logic 
of those who have not made the effort of thinking for them- 
selves, or daring to differ from the established order. 

To quote again from the healthy reason of our modern 
woman philosopher: "The economically dependent woman, 
spending the accumulating energies of the race in her small 
cage, has thrown out a tangled mass of expression as a large 
plant throws out roots in a small pot. She has crowded her 
limited habitat with unlimited things — things useful and un- 
useful, ornamental and unornamental ; and the labor of her 
life is to wait upon these things and keep them clean. 

"The free woman having room for full individual expres- 
sion in her economic activities and in her social relation will 
not be forced so to pour out her soul in tidies and photograph 



HOME AND HOME-MAKING. 127 

holders. The home will be her place of rest and not of uneasy 
activity; and she will learn to love simplicity at last. This 
will mean better sanitary conditions in the home, more beauty 
and less work." 

William Morris' Definition of Art* 

William Morris said : "We need fewer things and want them 
better. All your belongings should 'mean something to you/ 
To this end all shams must be tabooed. Make-believes have 
a deteriorating effect on the morals of a family. The thought 
of make-believe expressed in any article of furnishing is a bad 
object-lesson. The loud, inharmonious effects must also give 
way to the quiet and simple. Elaborateness of furnishings, 
decoration, clothing, manners, is relegated to the splendors of 
barbarism, where attention must be called to externals because 
the lack of development of the inner life makes it impossible 
to be manifest. In all the realms of art the subtle is under- 
mining the blatant and aggressive. Art, by the way, 'is only 
the best way of doing things'; and that in life is best which 
is made to serve." 

Simplicity in house furnishings leaves the mind more time 
for devising means of improvement along other lines, not the 
least of which is healthfulness in dress and in the selection 
and preparation of foodstuffs that will nourish instead of pleas- 
ing the palate. 

Education has for its supposed aims culture of the indi- 
vidual; but there is a brand of education that is veneer, that 
trains the mind to like a thing well-said better than a true one, 
to prefer a trained manner to a sincere one, to think graceful- 
ness of manner, aspect or dress to be more than the value of 
substance and heart. Whereas truth, courage, loyalty and the 
power of concentration must be the foundation of all that is 
worth while. All else is to be superstructure. 



128 HOME AND HOME-MAKING. 

After considering home to be a place for rest, for simplifi- 
cation of labor, and a place of equality for all its members, 
last and best it is where our best selves must be warmed and 
nurtured into active life. It is a place where each matured 
person at least becomes positive against all annoying influences, 
and where the little ones, if such there be, are taught the duties 
of kindness, cheerfulness and consideration of others by ex- 
ample and precept. Anything which is a lesson to a child 
to think of and care for others, and not to place itself as the 
center of family interest — the principal receiver instead of one 
of the givers — helps to counteract the tendency to selfishness 
which is apt to be fostered by unremitting parental care. Ac- 
tivity in all the kindly offices to different members of the fam- 
ily and to playmates is the surest way to lead the young to the 
habit of doing right and thinking for others. A far better 
grade of happiness is thus secured the child. Consciousness 
should always be beyond self. Self-gratification brings the 
poorest of returns ; it is evanescent ; it brings not the blessings 
which doing for others will insure. The most satisfying thing 
in life is love and sympathy, and this is never gained as an 
end, but must come spontaneously, because our characteristics 
and habits are such as to make them ours. 

"Happiness for All, from All." 

Ordinarily all states of mind are contagious. If in a home 
ill-temper, fault-finding and the like are allowed to be culti- 
vated through expression, one disagreeable member of the 
family will make the atmosphere unpleasant for all. Sensitive 
childhood feels it and returns it in kind. Instead the home 
motto should be "happiness for all, from all," and the cultiva- 
tion of the better mental attitudes made a duty among adults 
and children. Wherever there are natural tendencies to sad- 




YOUTH— J. F. Ballavoine. 






ODALISQUE— N. Sichel. 



HOME AND HOME-MAKING. 129 

4 

ness or ill-nature they should be crowded out by ihe persistent 
expressions of gladness. 

"When love, health, happiness and plenty hear 
Their names repeated over day by day, 
They wing their way like answering fairies near, 
Then nestle down within our homes to stay." 

"All that our hearts approve of wit, poetry, sentiment and 
sense we should endeavor to live in our daily home lives," and 
thus become like what the best of us approves. We should 
make the words used in our homes kind, conciliatory and sooth- 
ing, and thus insure restfulness, happiness and peace to those 
who dwell therein. 

It is said that the world reflects back to us what is in our- 
selves. Henry Wood says it this way: "That which men 
have in themselves they see everywhere objectively reflected. 
One who is disposed to cheat sees cheating in the atmosphere 
around him, until he mistakenly concludes that it is a part of 
the Established Order. But it is entirely in men, and Law 
knows it not." 

Goodness attracts, happiness attracts, friendliness attracts. 
Would any have friends? Then be a friend. Would you 
approximate happiness in the home? Open the doors to the 
influences of human weal; express thoughts of helpfulness. 
The poet Edgerton has set forth the following thoughts : 

"Tell Him So." 

"If you have a word of cheer 
That may light the pathway drear 
Of a brother pilgrim here, 

Let him know. 
Show him you appreciate 



130 . HOME AND HOME-MAKING. 

What he does, and do not wait 
Till the heavy hand of fate 

Lays him low. 
If your heart contains a thought 
That would brighter make his lot, 
Then, I beg you, hide it not ; 

Tell him so. 

"Life is hard enough at best, 
But the love that is expressed 
Makes it seem a pathway blest 

To our feet; 
And the troubles that we share 
Seem the easier to bear. 
Smile upon your neighbor's care 

As you greet. 
Rough and stony are our ways, 
Dark and dreary are our days, 
But another's love and praise 

Makes them sweet. 

"Wait not till your friend is dead 
Ere your compliments are said, 
For the spirit that has fled, 

If it know, 
Does not need to speed it on 
Our poor praise; where it has gone 
Love's eternal, golden dawn 

Is aglow. 
But unto our brother here 
That poor praise is very dear. 
If you've any word of cheer, 

Tell him so." 



HOME AND HOME-MAKING. 131 

Homes are splendid factors in social advancement through 
the power to radiate good to all who may be brought in con- 
tact with their influences of geniality. Through outside 
friendship the beneficence of one good home may be spread to 
many hearts. 

It is an ideal of such homes we should ever strive to ac- 
tualize; homes in which there is a living, throbbing desire to 
attain to all in the soul realm that is best, whatever be our 
material environment.. No ideal was ever so high we are not 
made better by striving toward it ; provided, it is in harmony 
with the thought of the unity of human kind. 



PART L 



CHAPTER IX. 




Mature Life. 

HE desire for long life, health and plenty has ex- 
isted from time immemorial; with each succeeding 
generation it is re-asserted, and the dawn of the 
twentieth century finds the quest of youth as earnest 
as ever. Only the truth of an idea endows it with living 
power. And if this desire were not for the weal of human- 
kind it would long ago have been left behind. 

The magical fountain of youth has been found to exist with- 
in ourselves. To the successful searchers it does not mean 
that the change called death shall never come, though the pos- 
sibility of overcoming death itself is recognized by some. The 
fountain of youth is fed from the perpetual spring of love ; the 
more that is given, the fresher and purer and more plentiful 
remains the fountain's supply. "All the currents of nature 
are love energies," says Burry. "From the basis of love alone 
must man attempt his interpretation of life. 

"The man who not only feels the love elements surging 
through him, but who has commenced to harness these forces, 
recognizing them as the creative principles of nature, has be- 
come a great magnetic center." 

The perfect love which "casteth out fear" is the rock that 
must be the foundation for actual growth : to cease growing is 
to cease living. Mankind has permitted and encouraged it- 

132 



MATURE LJFE. 133 

self in anticipating the infirmities of old age, and by degrees 
dropping into mental and physical inactivity. 

"Man has always considered life synonymous with sorrow 
and suffering. He has always had an instinctive longing for 
happiness and an indefinite belief that it was possible to attain 
his desire, but the unhappiness of thwarted hopes and blasted 
ambitions has followed in the wake of his ignorant efforts. 
In youth and middle age he looks forward to the consumma- 
tion of his wishes with an eagerness and zest that he after- 
wards remembers with a cynical smile. He has grown pessi- 
mistic and lost interest in former pursuits, and has settled to a 
grudging endurance of the remaining years he considers 
allotted to him." 

When the desire for health, plenty and long life is not 
realized among externals, some of the race set themselves to 
arguing that unalloyed happiness does not exist, and thereby 
align themselves with the negative forces of destruction. And 
so unhappiness, disease and death (so-called) become realities. 

In order that the waters from the fountain of youth may not 
be clogged and made stagnant, humankind must be free. Or, 
as has been repeatedly stated, live your own life regardless of 
what may be other people's creeds or beliefs. A writer in the 
Nautilus says : "Realize that what other people do or think, or 
do not do or think, has nothing to do with what you are or 
will be. Furthermore, the acts ?nd words and thoughts of 
others are none of your business. They have a right to treat 
you in any way you let them treat you, and think of you any- 
thing they choose. You attract exactly what you get, and you 
need it all to wake up to yourself. 

"Let them alone to think out their own salvation, and set 
yourself to make something of your own life and thought- 
force. You rfave been frittering away your thought energy 



134 MATURE LIFE. 

upon these people. That is why you have that tired feeling 
and cannot concentrate." 

If things go wrong the fault will never be found outside 
one's self, although human pride will have it so. All obstacles 
that are to be overcome are for the purposes of development. 
Where there is nothing to be overcome, strength is not made 
manifest. It is only when we come to regard each experience 
as a needful lesson that the real meaning of life will be under- 
stood. We are the creatures of circumstances only so long as 
we bow before them: when we have a realizing sense of our 
own power, then may we dominate circumstances. 

Youth in Old Age* 

For the preservation of the spirit of youthfulness it is neces- 
sary to be one with the present. Even if one believes he has a 
new grasp on truth and wishes to give of what he has to 
society, he cannot isolate himself and go to the mountain top 
beyond and above his fellow-creatures. In the generations 
gone only those people retained youthfulness against advanc- 
ing years who were the comrades of their children. Others 
who were merely trainers grew old in mind as well as body and 
died, and people said their time had come, while those who are 
young, though beyond the fourscore, are illy spared. 

Youth is the training-time of mind and body. Mr. Glad- 
stone said: "To train the mind should be the first object, and 
to stock it the next.'-' School life is only preparatory to the 
serious work of maturer years. There is no age limit wherein 
the aggressive mind will cease to appropriate that which, it 
can assimilate for growth. 

As the reason and judgment mature, fewer mistakes will be 
made and less ground retraced. We learn to do by doing. 
While youth is attracted by what pleases the senses, the ma- 
ture recognize only that beauty which is useful — that in life 
which is genuine. 



MATURE LIFE. 135 

It has been said that as a rule people do not change much 
after they are forty; that experience thereafter is only a 
deepening of ruts and not added power for progress. When 
this is true freedom to think has not been reached ; people are 
going by the rule of precedent and are not exploring the realm 
of truth for themselves. 

There are numerous examples to prove that the best life 
work has been done after fifty years. The resources of ma- 
ture life are so many more than those of childhood no one who 
is free will ever regret the vanished days. 

The following examples of work after fifty are from an 
article in the Coming Age: 

►Socrates was an old man when he began the study of music, 
and he gave to the world his wisest sayings when he was sixty- 
eight. 

Plato, who said an old man could not learn any more than 
he could run, was prosecuting his philosophic studies as a pupil 
until he was forty years of age, and did not begin to teach 
philosophy until he was about fifty, and he retained the vigor 
of all his faculties to the ripe age of eighty-two, and handed 
down to posterity all of his grandest sayings after the age of 
fifty. 

Aristotle continued a pupil until he was thirty-seven, and he 
was fifty- three before he established his school of philosophy at 
Athens.. It was probably after this that he wrote his works 
which governed the logical thought of the world for so many 
ages. 

Bacon was sixty before he arrived at the full maturity of his 
genius. It was then he gave to the world his "Novum Or- 
ganum," which has reconstructed science and has given an 
entirely new method of scientific investigation. 

Hobbes was sixty-two when he published his treatise on 



136. MATURE LIFE. ■ 

"Human Nature," and sixty-three before he completed his 
"Leviathan." 

Copernicus was nearly fifty before the theory of planetary 
motions which now prevails suggested itself to his mind. Nor 
did he succeed in establishing its truth to his own satisfaction 
until he was seventy, when he gave it to the world. 

Coke did not make his first attempt as an author on law 
until he was fifty years old. His great works were produced 
between that age and the time of his death at eighty. 

Mr. Benjamin, Q. C, who went from America to wrest the 
chief prizes from English lawyers, was almost sixty when he 
was called to the English bar, and within five years he was 
making three times a judge's income. 

John G. Abbott wrote "History of the American Civil War" 
at sixty-one, and "Romance of Spanish History" at sixty- 
five. 

Agassiz was fifty-nine years of age when he made an ex- 
ploration in Brazil with his wife and scientific assistants; and 
the steamer Colorado was made ever memorable by the course 
of lectures which this most popular of scientific lecturers gave 
on board. 

Jean le Rond d'Alembert ranks as one of the greatest bene- 
factors to science of the last century. He was fifty when he 
wrote the preliminary discourse to the celebrated "Encyclope- 
dia" which he had assisted Diderot to compile, and which drew 
from Condorcet the compliment that in a century only two or 
three men appeared capable of such writing. He was fifty-five 
when he was elected secretary to the French Academy and 
wrote the biography of seventy of its members. 

Stephen Alexander, American astronomer, was fifty-four 
when he made his expedition to Labrador to make observations 
on solar eclipses, and sixty-three when he went west for the 
same purpose. 



MATURE LIFE. 137 

Voltaire, French poet, historian and philosopher, and the 
most celebrated writer of the last century, did his greatest work 
after fifty, and at eighty-four produced his tragedy "Irene" 
in Paris, where he was everywhere attended by crowds, occu- 
pied a director's seat at the Academy, and was crowned at the 
theater. 

John J. Audubon, distinguished American ornithologist, 
was fifty years of age when his first famous volume of "The 
Birds of America" in folio, one hundred colored plates, draw- 
ings and colorings, made by himself, appeared in London. He 
was fifty-nine when the fourth volume completed the splendid 
work, which contains in all one thousand and sixty-five figures. 
He wrote "Quadrupeds of America" when near seventy years 
of age. 

Pierre Augustin, Baron de Beaumarchais, politician, artist, 
dramatist and merchant, was forty-six when he wrote "Le 
Barbier de Seville," and fifty-two when he wrote his famous 
"Le Mariage de Figaro." 

Jean Pierre de Beranger, one of the greatest lyric poets that 
France has produced, was between fifty and sixty when he 
completed his fourth series of songs. Speaking of these mas- 
terpieces of poetic skill, Goethe says : "His songs have shed 
tears of joy into millions of hearts." 

Baron John Jacob Berzelius, one of the greatest chemists of 
modern times, at sixty-nine filled the chair of chemistry at 
Stockholm (Sweden) University. From fifty to sixty-nine, 
by his patient labors and ingenious investigations, he did more 
to lay the foundations of organic chemistry than any other 
chemist. 

Bismarck was fifty-one when he carried out his long-cher- 
ished project of making Prussia the real head of Germany. He 
was sixty-seven when he accepted the challenge so rashly 



138 MATURE LIFE. 

offered by Napoleon III. and engaged the whole of Germany 
in successful war against France. 

Karl Wilhelm Boettinger, Professor of Literature and His- 
tory in the University of Erlangen, wrote the "History of Ger- 
many and the Germans" at fifty-five, and the "Universal His- 
tory" at fifty-nine. He wrote all of his most important his- 
torical works after fifty-five. 

Matthew Boulton, celebrated English engineer and member 
of the principal learned societies of Europe, whose long life 
was constantly and almost uninterruptedly devoted to the ad- 
vancement of the useful arts and the promotion of the com- 
mercial interests of his country, did his best and most useful 
work from sixty-five to eighty-one. 

Sir John Bowring, distinguished English diplomatist and 
author, did much of his famous work after sixty-seven years 
of age. 

Lord Brougham, eminent English advocate, jurist, philoso- 
pher and statesman, gave to the world his best work from fifty 
to eighty-nine. 

John Henry Kirk Brown, American sculptor, was fifty seven 
when he began his equestrian statue of General Scott, which is 
considered his best work, and his "Resurrection" when sixty- 
three. 

Joseph Rodes Buchanan wrote "Anthropology" at sixty- 
eight; "The New Education" at sixty-nine; "Science of Des- 
tiny" at eighty-three; working- with undimmed intellect till 
his death. 

Phillips Brooks was fifty-two when he delivered his two 
great lectures on "Tolerance," in New York, and continued 
his great work in the intellectual world to the end of his life at 
fifty-eight. 

William Cullen Bryant wrote many of his most beautiful 



MATURE LIFE. 139 

poems after fifty., and translated the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" 
at seventy-six. 

George Loring Brown was sixty-two when he painted "Ni- 
agara by Moonlight," and sixty-six when he painted the 
"Doge's Palace at Sunrise." . 

Sir Astley Cooper, F. R. S., celebrated English surgeon 
and anatomist, wrote "Anatomy and Diseases of the Breast" 
when sixty-one, and his work on "Dislocations and Fractures" 
at sixty-four. 

Disraeli was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer when 
fifty-four years of age. When sixty-one he became financial 
minister under the Earl of Derby for the third time. He be- 
came minister of the crown when sixty-three ; and wrote "Lo- 
thair" when sixty-five. 

Du Maurier was sixty when he wrote "Trilby." 

Emerson published "English Traits" when fifty-three, and 
the "Conduct of Life" when fifty-nine. 

Faraday, the distinguished English natural philosopher and 
chemist, when fifty-five years of age received the Royal and 
Rumford medals for his discovery of diamagnetism and the 
influence of magnetism upon light. When fifty-six he dis- 
covered the magnetic character of oxygen, and also the mag- 
netic relations of flame and gases. 

Froude wrote the "History of England from the Fall of 
Wolsey" when fifty-two years of age. 

Gladstone translated Farini's "Stato Romano" when fifty; 
at sixty wrote "The Gods and Men of the Heroic Age," and 
continued active in mind and body until his death at eighty- 
two. 

Gliiek, the German musical composer, presented his master- 
pieces after fifty years of age, and his greatest performances 
were executed after he was sixty. 



140 , MATURE LIFE. 

Goethe, the greatest modern poet of Germany, wrote the 
first part of "Faust" when fifty-six years of age, the second 
part appearing when he was eighty-two. "Wilhelm Meister" 
appeared when he was sixty-nine. 

Samuel Hahnemann, founder of homeopathy, published 
"Medicine of Experience" when fifty, and the "Organon of 
Rational Medicine" when fifty-five. 

Handel's "Messiah" was not completed until his fifty-sev- 
enth year; at his death, at* the age of seventy-four, he was in 
full possession of his musical powers. 

Oliver Wendell Holmes did much of his best work after 
passing the half century mark. 

Victor Hugo wrote "Les Miserables" when sixty years of 
age. 

Humboldt, at sixty, explored the eastern province of Russia, 
the results of which trip were published by him at the age of 
seventy-four, entitled "Central Asia, — Research on its Moun- 
tain Chains and Climatology." He published "Kosmos" and 
other works between the ages of seventy-six and eighty-two. 

Michael Angelo was fifty-eight when he began to paint the 
"Last Judgment," which occupied eight years. After the age 
of seventy he mastered the science of architecture. 

Milton completed "Paradise Lost" when fifty-seven, and 
"Paradise Regained" at sixty-three. 

Sir Isaac Newton, philosopher, mathematician and astrono- 
mer, was sixty-two when his treatise on optics was published. 

Sir Joshua Reynolds was sixty-one when he painted the 
beautiful allegorical portrait of "Mrs. Siddons as the Tragic 
Muse." 

Benjamin West was fifty-four when he succeeded Sir Josh- 
ua Reynolds as President of the Royal Academy, and was in 
his sixty-fifth year when he painted his celebrated picture of 
"Christ Healing the Sick." 



MATURE LIFE. 141 

Titian painted his "St. Peter, Martyr," when he was fifty- 
one, and worked on almost to the close of his remarkable life at 
ninety-nine. 

Jules Verne was writing romances when past seventy. 

Noah Webster performed the herculean task of his life be- 
tween the ages of sixty and seventy, rearing a monument to 
his own ability, industry and learning. 

Camille Flammarion, the eminent French astronomer, has 
done much of his most valuable work since his fiftieth birth- 
day. 

Examples might be multiplied over and over again to prove 
that maturity may bring life's best expression. The present 
being made up of what has gone before, any of the earlier years 
cannot be given over to habits that destroy without the record 
being left. Unless the quality of a life is good, the greater or 
less length does not signify so much in the social fabric. What- 
ever of good is in the character of people, themselves receive 
the first benefit. Each has his own life to live ; but in order to 
be a vitalizing element the power within one's self for the ex- 
pression of the universal life must be recognized. William 
Penn said : "He that does good for good's sake, seeks neither 
praise nor reward, is sure of both at last." 

The Fountain of Youth* 

And as to the fountain of youth, which also is the source of 
strength and power to do, one writer says: "The fountain, 
which began flowing when God said, 'Let there be light,' is 
still flowing — has ever been flowing and will always flow. 
Indeed, the signs are not lacking that it is flowing more freely 
than ever before. The increase of flow results from the fact 
that more of us are willing to drink. In vital matters supply 
is always infinite ; but apportionments are always in ratio with 



142 MATURE LIFE. 

demand. Our banker never forces money on us; we have to 
check against our deposits." 

So, in order to receive of our share from the infinite supply 
of all the phases of good we must persistently make demand. 
In the words of Prentice Mulford : "Mind is magnetic because 
it attracts to itself whatever thought it fixes itself upon, or 
whatever it opens itself to. Allow yourself to fear, and you 
fear more and more. Cease to resist the tendency to fear, 
make no effort to forget fear, and you open the door and in- 
vite fear in; you then demand fear. Set your mind on the 
thought of courage, see yourself in mind or imagination as 
courageous, and you will become courageous. You demand 
courage. 

44 Ask and Ye Shall Receive." 

"There is no limit in unseen nature to the supply of these 
spiritual frailties. In the words 'Ask and ye shall receive,' 
the Christ implied that any mind could through "demanding 
draw to itself all that it needed of any quality. Demand wisely 
and we draw to us the best. 

"Every second of wise demand brings an increase of power. 
Such increase is never lost to us. This is an effort for lasting 
gain that we can use at any time. What all of us want is 
more power to work results and build up our fortunes — power 
to make things about us more comfortable to ourselves and 
our friends. We cannot feed others if we have no power to 
keep starvation from ourselves. Power to do this is a differ- 
ent thing from the power to hold in memory other people's 
opinions. * * * 

"Your plan, purpose or design, whether relating to a busi- 
ness or an invention, is the real construction of unseen thought- 
element. Such thought-structure is also a magnet. It com- 
mences to draw aiding forces to it as soon as made. Persist 



MATURE LIFE. 143 

in holding to your plan or purpose, and these forces come 
nearer, become stronger and stronger, and will bring more and 
more favorable results. 

"Abandon your purpose, and you stop further approach of 
these forces, and destroy also such amount of unseen attracting 
power as you may have built up. Success in any business de- 
pends on the application of this law." 

This being a law-governed universe, everything successful 
is in accordance with law : everything non-successful when the 
law is not conformed to. Each must develop his own powers 
of understanding, and when he does so will give some indi- 
vidual interpretation of life. "Law is diversity in unity, and 
man in expressing it is the same." 

A writer in Unity gives the following words of helpfulness 
for gaining what is our own for the claiming : "Our recogni- 
tion of the vitality of all things about us gives vitality to all 
our environment as well as to the physical condition of the in- 
dividual. It gives poise to the individual, a feeling of strength 
and confidence in his ability to think and to do ; his fears leave 
him one by one, for they cannot stand in the face of this great 
vitality. All good is for him. He has only to reach out and 
take what he wants. He must trust his real desire for perfec- 
tion and harmony within and without, must make for it, pass- 
ing by all contradictions to this truth that would beset his path 
and at times seem to obstruct it wholly. 

"Don't listen to any negative voice. Truth is not in nega- 
tions. Truth is in the positives that make for and proclaim 
health, opulence, all good and nothing else. In a strong posi- 
tive attitude there is no room for negations ; only as the strong 
attitude is abandoned do the negatives edge their way in." 

A lesson that cannot be learned too early nor too late is that 
of making one's own life the very best possible according to the 



144 MATURE LIFE. 

knowledge possessed. When each is strong within there will 
be no need of outside protective measures against temptations. 
Virtue does not exist because of no chance to manifest in 
vice. 

Always Look Forward* 

There is also this : no beautiful minute should ever be spent 
in regret. If mistakes have been made, they may be utilized 
as stepping-stones to better experiences. Always look forward 
to the splendid possibilities of the future, working patiently 
with the material at hand, until better appears. Because one 
has reached the age of forty or fifty or more, is no excuse for 
ceasing to be active in all ways. It is not for nothing we are 
here; nothing is causeless or purposeless. Would you ap- 
proach happiness, follow Nature's example of activity; thereby 
working with her beneficent laws. "When one generation 
comes into possession of the material good that the former 
generation has gained and makes that fool remark, 'I don't 
have to work,' it straightway is stepping on the chute that 
gives it a slide to Avernus." Success in any line is to the active, 
who concentrate their thought-force to a given end. Success 
is a desirable end through desire to serve, and when one fails 
to attain to it the fault can only be measured and understood 
through the knowledge of personal responsibility. 

Brother Hubbard, of The Philistine, tells us — and he is one 
of the prophets of Truth : "Man never plots another's undo- 
ing except upon the stage. Because you do not like a man is 
no reason he is your enemy— this is a busy world and no one 
really has time to sit right down and hate you. The only 
enemies we have are those we conjure forth from our inner 
consciousness. " 




ASPASIA— N. Sichel. 







>^ 





^/Kg^^m 




MEDITATION- L. Perrault. 



PART II 



TOKOLOGY 



THE PHYSIOLOGY AND HYGIENE OF THE 
SEXUAL ORGANIZATION. 



" Man and woman created He them. Male and female created 
He them." 



PART II. 



CHAPTER I. 



The Organs of Generation. 




'Male and female created He them." 

>HILE the principle of sex is inherent in every 
member of the human organism, the physio- 
logical formations of the male and female sex- 
^- ^ . ual systems are unlike. They are complement- 
ary to each other, together making creative powers complete. 

The man and woman who most nearly approximate this 
complete relationship to each other are, with a fair degree 
of understanding of the use and. abuse of the sexual nature, 
best fitted to overcome all the obstacles of life. But to attain 
to the highest possibilities that culture of mind which enables 
one to perceive the fineness of Mother Nature's laws is need- 
ful. Obedience is the price for her blessings. 

To lead to a more complete understanding of the subject 
which is the basis of this work a detailed description of the 
structure of the organs of generation is given. 

The Male Organs. 

The male organs are the testes and penis, together with 
nerves, blood vessels, glands and vesicles. The female organs 
are the ovaries and uterus, with supporting ligaments, etc. 
The most important of these are the "seed-bearing" organs; 
in them is the origin, or source, of life's powers. The brain 

147 






148 



THE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 



plans the sex system, furnishes the essences which quicken or 
make fruitful whatever is planned. It gives one the power 
to reach others of his fellow-creatures. 

The testes are two in number, resembling a small hen's egg 
in size and shape; they are suspended within a cutaneous 
pouch called the scrotum. In pre-natal growth the testes are 
formed in the abdomen, behind the lining membrane and be- 
low the kidneys ; they descend prior to birth ( from the fifth to 



(3) 



(Sr- 




•"*) 



Tjte Male Sexual Organs, (a) 

The Testis (testicle) — scrotum partially cut away, (i) Cut edge of the 
scrotum. (2) Body of testicle. (3) Spermatic cord. (4) Spermatic artery. 

eighth month), bringing with them the numerous coverings 
derived from the serous, muscular and fibrous layers of the 
abdominal walls. In rare instances they never descend; yet 
the person has virile powers. There are seven external cover- 
ings, not necessary here to be described, and each testis has 
two other'coats. Nature has tried to protect man thoroughly. 
Himself is his own worst enemy in this regard. 



THE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 



149 



The scrotum is divided in two lateral halves, allowing a sep- 
arate chamber for each testis. A small raised line beginning 
at the root of the penis and continuing along the middle line 
of the perineum describes this division on the surface. A 
spermatic cord passes from each testis upward into the pelvis 
to the point below the kidneys where they were formed. Each 
cord is made up of a muscle, an artery, veins, nerves and 
lymphatics. The artery is about the size of a crow's quill, and 




The Male Sexual Organs. (6) 

The Testis (testicle). — Sectional diagram, (i) Network of seminal tubes 
within the testis. (2) Union of seminal tubes. (3) Duct leading to seminal 
sacs. 

is a branch of the aorta. Through it the best blood of the 
system is sent to the glands of the testicle to be refined and 
there reabsorbed for the perfection of the masculine nature. 

In a mature man each testis is about an inch and a half in 
length, an inch wide and about a half-inch thick. One of 
Nature's miracles is to coil within so small a space almost a 
mile of seminal tubing. As in all glandular structures, the 



150 THE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 

testes are composed of a countless number of cells, a network 
of tubing and a duct to convey away the secretion. They 
are built on the lobular plan, like the liver, the cells, vessels 
and ducts being gathered into small bundles called lobules. 
Each lobule is covered with a plexus of blood-vessels, a white 
fibrous coating and a serous membrane; and there are about 
four hundred of such lobules in each testis. The seminal 
tubing is about one one-hundred-and-seventieth (1-170) part 
of an inch in diameter. 

Different portions of this tubing receive different appella- 
tions. Before leaving the lobule it becomes straight, and is 
called vasa recta (straight vessel) ; from the lobules they join 
and form a network, and the name becomes reti testis (testicle 
net) ; here the tubing leaves the testis and forms into from 
twelve to twenty ducts, which are called vasa efferentia (bear- 
ing-away vessels). The word epididymis is derived from the 
Greek word didymis, meaning testicle; epididymis signifying 
"upon the testicle." This is at the back of the testicle, or 
testis, next the trunk, and is a continuation of the tubes. It 
is a convoluted mass some twenty feet in length, which at the 
lower end of the testicle becomes narrow and makes an up- 
ward turn, and is called vas aberrans (deviating vessel), to 
distinguish from the straight line it next assumes. Vas deferens 
(vessel bearing from) is the last name given the tubing; it is 
through this portion the fluid leaves the scrotum. The vas 
deferens forms part of the spermatic cord until it enters the 
abdomen ; it then passes over the bladder and back of it to con- 
nect with the seminal vesicle. The seminal vesicles are reser- 
voirs for the semen, as the gall-bladder is for bile. They are 
two lobulated membranous pouches at the base of the blad- 
der, between it and the rectum. Each vesicle is a single tube 
coiled upon itself and held in place by fibrous tissue. When 



THE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 151 

uncoiled it is about the diameter of a quill and from four to 
six inches in length. At the upper, or posterior, end the 
vesicle has no opening; at the lower it forms a duct which 
unites with the vas deferens, and together they form the 
ejaculatory duct. At the climax of amative excitement the 
contents of the seminal vesicles are propelled outward through 
the ejaculatory duct and urethra. 

The penis is composed of three compartments of spongy 
tissue, two lying side by side and one below. The two com- 
partments are named the corpora cavernosa (cavernous 
bodies), and the other corpus spongiosum (spongy body). 
The spongy portion contains the urethra, a canal through 
which the bladder is emptied, and which conveys the seminal 
fluid outward. The erectile tissue of which the body of the 
penis is composed resembles the structure of a sponge, the 
apertures of which are lined with an intricate network of very 
small veins and arteries, with nerves and lymphatics. In just 
the way a sponge may be enlarged to several times its original 
size by filling with water, the erectile tissues are increased by 
an influx of blood called to those parts under excitement of the 
nerves. This excitement is induced by the mind dwelling on 
amative matters, and often almost no immediate cause is 
needed to produce erection. The brain is the controlling 
power of all the functions of the body, but especially so of 
every conscious act. And over no place in the mechanism of 
the body should a more rigid censorship be exercised than over 
the sexual system. A waste of force in this department de- 
bilitates more quickly than in any other. 

The corpus spongiosum extends beyond the two cavernous 
bodies and forms the glans penis which covers the ends of the 
corpora cavernosa. The whole body of the organ is envel- 
oped in a loose covering, continuous with that of the pubes, 






152 THE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 

which at the crown becomes folded upon itself, forming the 
prepuce, or foreskin. In childhood the prepuce completely 
envelops the glans, but in the adult may be drawn back of the 
glans. Where the habit of cleanliness has not been established 
in boys and men, the sensitive glans penis may become ex- 
coriated by its own secretions. Little glands about the neck 
secrete an oily fluid for preserving the glans and the prepuce 
which covers it. Before puberty there is not so much activity 
in secreting as after, so that special care in cleansing is not 
needed until after that time. When neglected a chemical 
change is undergone, which renders the natural lubricant of a 
disagreeable odor, and of cheese-like consistency, with some- 
times acrimony which produces inflammation. 

The habit of cleansing the genitals daily with soap and 
water, allowing the head of the glans to receive attention, will 
be a savior in more ways than one. This unclean condition 
often gives rise to an irritation which causes amative desire in 
its lascivious sense. A bath will remove the cause and place 
one on better terms with his conscience and self-respect. 

Glands accessory to the formation of the seminal fluid are 
the prostate gland and Cowper's glands. The first surrounds 
the neck of the bladder and resembles a horse-chestnut in size 
and shape. Through the prostate gland passes the urethra; 
the ejaculatory ducts open into the prostatic portion of the 
urethra. The gland itself has fifteen or twenty excretory 
ducts, which also open into that portion of the urethra. The 
secretion from the prostate gland lubricates the interior of the 
urethra, and also serves to assist the seminal fluid to escape 
when excitement demands. 

Cowper's glands are two small bodies about the size of peas, 
located below the second portion of the urethra, and each has 
a duct opening into it. The semen itself, which requires 



THE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 153 

such a delicate and complex mechanism for its manufacture, 
is described as a thick, whitish fluid, which contains the 
spermatozoa essential for the propagation of the species. 
There are hundreds of sperm-cells in a single drop of semen, 
and only one is necessary to produce another life when united 
with the ovum of the female organism. The spermatozoa 
is about 1-600 of an inch in diameter and resembles the tad- 
pole in shape. 




Spermatozoa {greatly enlarged). 

(1, 2, 3) Various stages of development of the sperm cells within their 
sacs. (4, 5) Various views of the free cells. 

A man will seldom wish to perpetuate himself in more than 
from one to six children; hence a larger use for his powers 
of virility lies in revivifying and strengthening his force in 
other directions. 

Conservation of Forces* 

One writer expresses the subject in the following whole- 
some language : 

"A man who conserves all his forces and allows no prodigal 
waste of seminal secretions during the age of virility receives 
a sure reward. His frame becomes more closely knit, his 
step more sturdy and elastic, his voice rich, harmonious and 
magnetic, his mind clearer, his judgment more reliable. He 
can endure a greater strain of business or study as he goes on 
in years, and in every way is the reliable man. 

"This may in a large measure be attributed to the absorp- 



154 THE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 

tion and assimilation of the conserved sperm. A large quan- 
tity may be taken up by the brain and expended in thought. 
No uneasiness need be felt if, after strenuous mental exertion, 
there should be a temporary arrest of the secretion. Exces- 
sive manual labor also, under some circumstances, arrests the 
secretion, and both body and brain may be affected thereby. 
The better life is that which is equally apportioned between 
mental and physical labor. With these there should be rest, 
leisure, recreation and social enjoyment interspersed to bring 
the best results. 

"The depressing effect upon the system of tobacco, alcohol, 
opium and chloral prevents the secretion and assimilation 
of sperm, robbing both mind and body." 

It may be that the widespread tobacco and alcohol habits 
among hien are the chief - sources of sexual abnormalities. 
These have their origin in minds undisciplined to self-control. 

The Female Generative Organs* 

The female generative system is the seat of much disease 
and suffering, which might be avoided did one understand the 
structure of the sexual organs and the laws governing the same. 

For a full description of the system, to the principal organs, 
the ovaries and uterus, must be added the mons Veneris, the 
labia, the clitoris, the vagina, and the Fallopian tubes. 

The mons Veneris, or mount of Venus, is the eminence 
surmounting the external organs, and at puberty becomes cov- 
ered with hair. 

The labia, or lips, are folds of skin which enclose the vaginal 
opening. 

The clitoris is a small erectile organ at the upper part of the 
vulva, between the external labia, corresponding in relative 
position to the male penis. It is highly sensitive, especially 
so in abnormal sexual appetite. 



THE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 155 

The vagina is a canal leading from the vulva to the uterus ; 
its average length is about five inches, and it surrounds the 
lower part of the neck of the womb. On either side of the 
vagina, near the opening, are two glands (the glands of Bartho- 
line), which correspond to Cowper's glands in the male, whose 
excretory ducts open upon the side of the internal labia. The 
vagina has a muscular coat, a layer of erectile tissue, and an 
internal mucous lining. This canal is the complement of the 
penis in the procreative act. .In health it helps sustain the 
weight of the uterus, and serves as a passage for the menstrual 
discharge. 

In early life the vagina is usually more or less closed by a 
membranous fold called the hymen. It is sometimes circu- 
lar, with an opening in the center ; again it is stretched across 
the lower part of the opening only. In rare instances the 
original opening is entirely closed, constituting an imperforate 



5) 




/i^O 


"(3) 


ppfi. 


(s) 


( 4 ) 





Diagram of the Female Sexual Organs. 



(i) The uterus. (2) An ovary. (3) A Fallopian tube. (4) Round liga- 
ment. (5) Broad ligament which, on the opposite side, has been cut away to 
show the parts it supports. 

hymen. In such cases, before the function of menstruation 
can be established, the membrane must be ruptured. It is 
often entirely absent. Formerly its presence was supposed to 
indicate virginity in a woman, but there is abundant evidence 
to indicate that it bears very scanty relation to that estate. 



156 THE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 

The Fallopian tubes are oviducts, ducts to convey the ovum 
from the ovaries to the uterus. They are described as trumpet- 
shaped, the larger end terminating in fringe, or fimbrae. Dur- 
ing amative excitement these fimbrse are supposed to envel- 
op the ovaries, and seize any matured egg at the surface of 
these bodies and convey it to the uterus for possible impregna- 
tion. 

This is the process of Nature to be considered in the con- 
trol of the procreative function in connection with avoiding 
ejaculation by the husband. People who believe in the quick- 
ening powers of sexual union for love alone unite for a 
certain length of time in the marital embrace. But excite- 
ment is avoided, thus preventing escape of the seminal fluid, 
and of the ovum also. Each gives to and receives from the 
other the magnetic element needful to the complete upbuild- 
ing of their individual powers. Any married pair should 
be willing to control themselves for the sake of sparing them- 
selves babies upon whom they cannot bestow proper qualifica- 
tions. Besides, it is the better way, once it is learned. 

The uterus is the organ of gestation, in size and shape re- 
sembling a pear. The upper and broader portion is called the 
fundus, and the lower contracted portion the cervix. The 
cervix, or neck, projects partly into the vagina and forms the 
os, or mouth of the uterus, the external opening of the cavity. 
The Fallopian tubes lead from either side of the top of the 
broad portion, their opening being no larger than the diameter 
of a horse-hair or hog's bristle. 

The uterus is mostly composed of a muscular coat, very 
thick in the unimpregnated state. Its arteries and veins are 
remarkable for their tortuous course. Both the muscular 
thickness and tortuous veins and arteries are provisions for 
the changes in size during pregnancy. In health this muscu- 



THE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 157 

lar coat is said to be of two hundred horse-power resistance, 
amply able to expel an infant at parturition without pain. 

The provisions for sustaining the uterus in natural position 
are plentiful, there being eight ligaments to serve as supports ; 
the round, the broad, the anterior and the posterior. The two 
round ligaments extend from the body of the uterus near the 
opening of the oviducts, through the inguineal canal attaching 
to the pubic arch. The other three pairs of ligaments are 
folds of the peritoneum or lining membrane of the abdominal 
cavity. The round ligaments are known as true ligaments. 

The two broad ligaments cover, or clothe, the body of the 
womb as the mesentery does the bowel, and, extending out- 
ward, inclose separately the round ligaments, the ovaries and 
Fallopian tubes. They attach to the pelvic walls and form a 
wall across the pelvis between the bladder and rectum. The 
broad ligaments form the external coat of the uterus. The 
fringed extremities of the oviducts are left free. 

The anterior pair of ligaments connect with the bladder; 
the posterior pair with the rectum. 

The numerous displacements of the uterus are due to weak- 
ening of some or all of these ligaments. The most common 
are retroversion, anteversion and prolapsus; or when the 
uterus leans against the rectum, sometimes descending between 
it and the vagina; or leans against the bladder; or drops low 
into the vagina from a general weakening of all the liga- 
ments. 

The ovaries are situated on either side of the uterus, and 
attach to it by a true ligament, and to the Fallopian tubes by 
a short cord. They bear the same relationship to the econ- 
omy of the female system that the testes do to the male. 
When ovaries lose their vitality the bodily and mental powers 



158 



THE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 



wane. The surgery which removes the ovaries, or testicles, 
effectually destroys the ability to accomplish more than a 
machine. It arrests development. Venereal excess has a 
worse effect, in that it brings pain and suffering in addition 
to loss of power. 

The ovaries are a little smaller than the testes; they are of 
a whitish color, oval shape, a little flattened; the weight of 
each is from sixty to one hundred grains. The covering 
of the ovary is a dense, firm, fibrous coat which encloses a soft 
fibrous tissue abundantly supplied with blood vessels ; the soft 





The Ovum. 

A Diagram of the Human Ovum {greatly enlarged). 

(a) The Graafian vessel enclosing the ovum, (b) The free ovum escaping 
and ready for impregnation. 

tissue is called the stroma. Imbedded in the stroma, and com- 
posing the main substance of the ovary, are numerous small, 
round, transparent vessels, called the Graafian vesicles, in vari- 
ous stages of development. These Graafian vesicles are the 
ovisacs which contain the ova, or female life-germ. Those 
most nearly matured are at the surface of the ovary, like a 
plant ready to burst through the ground. The maturing 
of an ovum and the rupture of a Graafian vesicle at the sur- 
face leave a scar upon the body of that organ. Under the 
proper excitement the fimbrse of the Fallopian tubes envelop 



THE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 159 

the ovary and convey the ova on its way to the uterus. The 
exact place of impregnation is not decided. There have been 
ovarian pregnancies and pregnancies in the abdominal cavity 
which might be taken as indications that impregnation took 
place in the ovary; in one case remaining to develop, in the 
other escaping from the oviduct and developing in the abdo- 
minal cavity; or in true development being carried to the 
uterus. Normally it is customary to believe that conception 
takes place in the uterus itself. 

Precautions as to cleanliness should be given the genitals. 
A daily cleansing with a good syringe will preserve health 
in a remarkable degree. It is sometimes recommended to 
avoid both the daily bath and irrigation of the vagina during 
menstruation, but this is unnecessary ; provided the temperature 
of the room in which the bath is taken is seventy degrees or 
higher. Chill is what is to be avoided. 

The mammce, mammary glands, or breasts, are accessory to 
the generative system. During pregnancy and after deliv- 
ery they are aroused to activity, and secrete the milk which 
is the babe's first nourishment after birth. The mammary 
gland consists of numerous lobes and lobules, connected by 
areolar tissue with blood-vessels and ducts. About twenty 
ducts convey the milk from the lobules toward the center of 
the breast, where dilations are formed which serve as milk 
reservoirs. At the base of the nipple they are again con- 
tracted and pursue a straight course to its summit, where there 
are several small openings. 

The form and size of the breasts are determined by the 
surrounding fatty tissue at the surface of the gland. They 
enlarge at puberty and during pregnancy, but more especially 
after delivery. In old age they become more or less atrophied. 



PART II. 




^ts*^ 



CHAPTER II. 

Menstruation* 

MNES vivum ex ova. (Every living thing comes 
from an egg or germ.) 

Every organism throughout nature is endowed 
with means for perpetuating its kind. The human 
family depends upon a union of male and female of its kind for 
perpetuation, and each sex is furnished a delicate sexual sys- 
tem for the purpose. 

When the system attains the growth for the unfolding 
of sex powers it is known as the dawn of puberty. In girls 
the approach is marked by enlargement of the bust and hips 
and the appearance of a sanguineous discharge known as 
menstruation, the menses, the catamenial How, and various 
other appellations. This indicates that the process of ovula- 
tion, or the formation of ova or female germs, and the dis- 
charge of the same, has begun in the ovaries. 

An eminent authority says that ovulation continues during 
the life of the ovary, although menstruation only attends the 
period of reproductive power. 

At the approach of the menses it may often be noticed that 
girls will manifest many mental peculiarities. The physiologic 
base of menstruation rests in the nervous system; hence the 
establishment of the function, in probably the majority of 

160 



MENSTRUATION. 161 

cases, affects the nerves and is reflected in the mind. The 
appetite may be irregular, or there may be a craving- for in- 
digestibles; languor is felt, the back aches, there are pains. in 
the legs; chilliness, headache and many other morbid condi- 
tions are to be seen, while the temper may be very irritable 
or perverse. 

With the establishment of a periodical flow unpleasant 
symptoms vanish, and the young woman enters buoyantly 
upon the current of adolescent life. The quickening influence 
of the power of sex manifests itself in increased activities, 
mental and physical, and in refining the whole nature. This 
latter is only true when the young woman has been shielded 
from grossness regarding sex life, or has been made acquainted 
with its true uses. As yet the latter is the exception rather 
than the rule; mothers largely rely on keeping their darlings 
in ignorance. But the spirit of progress is abroad, and all 
who desire to keep abreast of the times inform themselves 
more or less as to child-culture, which includes instruction 
on the physiological well-being of the child. 

Before the menstrual flow appears a wise mother will tell 
her daughter that it is to be expected. Oftentimes it is 
learned from classmates or from ignorant older persons, and 
from that girls come to believe it is something to be concealed. 
Not knowing its nature and use, chill is often caused by dab- 
blings in water, and repression of the flow results, which 
paves the way to a future of invalidism ; or, coming upon her 
unawares, fright may affect the budding woman in the same 
way, doing her injury. 

The age of puberty varies according to climate, race, tem- 
perament or general condition of health. 

In the hot zones menstruation occurs from the tenth to the 
fourteenth year ; in temperate zones from the thirteenth to the 



162 MENSTRUATION. 

sixteenth; in colder zones from the fifteenth to the twentieth 
year. The Italian, Hebrew, Creole or Negro girl menstruates 
earlier than the English, German or Swedish girl; the full- 
blooded girl earlier than her anaemic cousin. 

In normal health menstruation occurs once in twenty-eight 
days throughout the years of fecundity. There are some 
variations to this rule; some women in sound health have 
menstruated once in twenty-one days; others once in twenty- 
four days. One physician says, "Each woman is a law unto 
herself" in this respect. 

The source of the menstrual discharge is in the uterus and 
Fallopian tubes, the best authorities testify, and its purpose 
is to prepare the lining membrane of the uterus for the recep- 
tion and gestation of impregnated ovum. While the function 
of menstruation depends on the integrity- of ovulation, ovula- 
tion does not depend upon menstruation. In man thousands 
of spermatozoa are created and re-absorbed into the system to 
add to his strength of brain and body, or thrown out of his 
system through evil habits. 

The economy of the female generative system is much the 
same, recent scientific studies assert. "Thousands of ova ma- 
ture, rupture and become absorbed by the peritoneum during 
the intermenstrual phase," one author says. Perverted sexual 
habits or tastes, like poison in the blood, counteract the 
beneficent effects of the natural law which causes the absorp- 
tion of life-germs for the upbuilding of vitality. 

Menstruation influences ovulation from the fact that dur- 
ing the flow the ovaries are highly congested, and thus hasten 
the ripening of the germ-cells near the surface. In absence 
of the ovary, or in defective development, the uterus is almost 
always defective and the flow defective or absent. Removal 



MENSTRUATION. 163 

of the ovaries is sooner or later followed by a cessation of 
the menses ; two years is about the limit of continuance. 

A medical journal publishes the following from the pen of 
a progressive practicing physician : "The ovary is the central 
and essential sexual organ of females and should never be 
sacrificed if avoidable. The uterus and oviducts are ap- 
pendages of the ovary. When extirpating ovaries sufficient 
parenchyma (the soft tissue of the glands) should be retained 
to sustain the menstrual process. 

"The ovary is a closed gland, like the spleen, and its secre- 
tion is necessary for the animal economy" 

Wives and mothers have been so reduced in mind as to 
gladly undergo the surgery which removes the ovaries, for 
the reason that it would prevent pregnancy and undesired off- 
spring. They do not understand good old Mother Nature. 
Rather they misunderstand in thinking too frequent child- 
bearing is one of her decrees. When seed is planted it will 
endeavor to grow, no matter if the soil be exhausted. The 
parent life will be the stronger if seed-sowing is avoided, 
Mother Nature says. Only uncontrolled abnormal sexual ap- 
petite will generate undesired offspring. 

From general consideration of the menstrual flow it may be 
concluded that menstruation is a nervous phenomenon; that 
it is a reflex act originating in the mechanism of the nervous 
system. But there must be a normal genital apparatus, a 
normal nerve apparatus and a normal blood supply. The 
sympathetic nervous system distributed to the blood vessels, 
the glandular system and^the viscera have control of this func- 
tion. 

Menstruation should be devoid of suffering. That it is 
not in so many instances indicates a wandering from the laws 
of health in some direction. None of the phases of disordered 



164 MENSTRUATION. 

menstruation can be overcome without a return to wholesome 
methods of living. 

Vicarious menstruation means that the bloody secretion 
may occur on o.ther mucous membranes than the uterine, as the 
nasal or intestinal. It occurs mainly with defective develop- 
ment of the uterus, or in its absence ; or it may occur in cases 
of menstruation suppressed at its natural source. 

Painful menstruation, called dysmenorrhea, may be due to 
errors in diet, or dress, to exposure, to lack of proper exercise, 
to constipation, or to a contracted or congested state of the 
Fallopian tubes or mouth of the' uterus. The afflicted parts 
once a month telegraph to the brain that some wrong condition 
exists. Menstruation is not the wrong condition, however. 
It is natural and should no more be attended with pain than a 
passage from the bladder or bowel. Almost any condition can 
be easily overcome but that of non-development. Sometimes 
the female organs remain infantile, in which cases the functions 
of nature cannot be performed. Disability is often inherited. 

Degeneracy* 

The race of womankind to-day is not as hardy as its grand- 
mothers or great-grandmothers. Why? Perhaps artificiali- 
ties of civilization have much to do with those who have not 
learned that natural laws of being are to be preferred. More 
than twenty-five years ago Gail Hamilton, a woman many 
years ahead of her generation in thought, wrote : 

"If the women of to-day are puny, fragile, degenerate, are 
they not the grandchildren of their grandmothers, bearing 
such constitutions as their grandmothers could transmit? It 
was the duty of those venerable ladies not only to be strong 
themselves, but to see to it that their children were strong. 
A sturdy race should leave a sturdy race. It was far more 



MENSTRUATION. 165 

their duty to give to their children vigorous minds, stalwart 
bodies, healthy nerves, firm principles, than it was to spin and 
weave and make butter and cheese all day. We should have 
got along just as well with less linen laid up in lavender, and 
if our grandmothers could only have waited we would have 
woven them more cloth in a day than their hand-looms would 
turn out in a lifetime. But there is no royal road to a healthy 
manhood and womanhood. Nothing less costly than human 
life goes into the construction of human life. We should 
have more reason to be grateful to our ancestors if they had 
given up their superfluous industries, called off their energy 
from its perishable objects, and let more of their soul and 
strength flow leisurely in to build up the soul and strength 
of the generations that were to come after them. Nobody is 
to blame for being born weak. If this generation of women 
is feeble compared with its hardy and laborious grandmothers 
it is simply because the grandmothers put so much of their 
vitality, their physical nerve and moral fiber into their churn- 
ing and spinning that they had but an insufficient quantity 
left wherewithal to endow their children. And so they 
wrought us evil. 

"One would not willingly quarrel with his grandmothers. 
All agree in awarding them praise for heroic qualities. They 
fought a good fight — perhaps the best they could under the cir- 
cumstances with their light. We would gladly overlook all in 
their lives that was defective and fasten our eyes only on that 
which was noble. But when their fault is distinctly pointed 
out as their virtue, when their necessity is exalted into our 
ensample, when their narrowness is held up to our ambition, 
we must say it was fault and need and narrowness, grand- 
mother or no grandmother. Indeed, those excellent gentle- 
women, no doubt, long before this have seen the error of their 



166 MENSTRUATION. 

ways, and if they could find voice would be the first to avow 
that they did set too great store by chests of sheets and bureaus 
of blankets, and pillow-cases of stockings, and stacks of pro- 
visions; and that if it were given them to live life over again 
they would endeavor rather to lay up treasure in the bodies 
and brains and hearts of their children, where moth and mil- 
dew do not corrupt, which time does not dissipate nor destroy, 
and whereof we stand in sorer need than of purple or scarlet 
or fine-twined linen." 

Opportunities are better for mental development now than 
in pioneer times. The light is spreading by means of books 
and from mouth to mouth. But improvement is constant, and 
there should be ambition to keep abreast with the best at all 
times, and especially in regard to the care of the body, which 
may be either the temple or the prison of the soul. 

Remedies for Dysmenorrhea* 

Returning to the subject of dysmenorrhea, the cause should 
be sought. Remove all unhealthy clothing from neck to shoes. 
This change will work wonders. If there is constipation, use a 
copious enema of hot water to the lower bowel two or three 
times a week. If properly used the bowels do not depend on 
the enema for normal action, many physicians to the contrary 
notwithstanding. First flush the bowel to remove what- 
ever effete matter is packing the rectum; that is passed off 
after retaining as long as possible; then the bowel is flushed 
again to its capacity. This removes the waste higher in the 
bowel. Passing that off, a third flushing may be taken; this 
time about four quarts can be contained and held for some time 
in a recumbent position. The water can be distinctly noticed to 
pass along the entire length of the colon. No one using this 
treatment as a prophylactic need ever have a fear of that 



MENSTRUATION. 167 

bugaboo, appendicitis. Appendicitis occurs when the colon is 
packed and crowds the poisonous matter into the appendix 
vermiformis. I forgot to state that after using the above 
treatment there is a normal action of the bowels the next day. 

In reference to diet, if the idea of nourishing the body gives 
way to pandering to the palate the appetite will degenerate, so 
that pastries, confections and stimulants are apt to be used in 
excess of nourishing foods. Beans, peas, oats, salmon, eggs, 
beef, all contain plenty of nitrates, or muscle-forming food; 
the same foods, and codfish in addition, contain an abundance 
of phosphates, or food for nerve and brain; butter, rice, cab- 
bage, corn, beans, provide the carbonates or fat-forming foods 
— white bread may be added as a fat-former. 

Mrs. Rorer, an authority on sanitary and other cooking, 
says that eggs and sugar and butter are all good as articles 
of food, but when used together, as they are to make pastries, 
puddings and cakes, are indigestible and unfit for food. It 
should be remembered that it is what is digested that gives 
strength, and not what is placed in the stomach. All else 
clogs and deteriorates the digestive apparatus. Eat slowly. 

A lack of equalization of mental and physical exercise will 
derange the system, and painful menstruation be one of the 
results. Try to preserve an equilibrium. 

Previous to and during menstruation, drink water abundant- 
ly. Water is the most plentiful constituent of the human body. 
The blood cannot run in good health without it. One author- 
ity asserts that where there is painful menstruation one may 
be doubly assured that there is not enough water taken into the 
system. Unless certain of its purity, water should be boiled 
or filtered before taking large quantities for hygienic purposes. 



168 MENSTRUATION. 

An Unholy Wrong:* 

What is known as self-abuse is sometimes practiced among 
girls, and the deadly sinful habit will cause any and all the 
diseases in the catalogue of human ills. Young people should 
be cautioned against this unholy wrong to themselves, which, 
through dwarfing them body and soul, causes pain to their 
friends. Mothers, don't grow faint-hearted at this point. 
Your child's future welfare depends on being started right on 
matters relative to the generative system. 

Suppression of the Menses* 

Amenorrhea is retention or suppression of the menses. This 
state is apt to exist in tuberculosis, excessive obesity, and usu- 
ally during gestation and lactation. A flow would be abnor- 
mal in pregnancy, and during the nursing period it would de- 
tract from the richness of the milk. 

Where the nervous system is burdened by superfluous flesh, 
the menstrual rhythm cannot be smooth. It depends for its 
integrity upon normal nervous activity. The best remedy for 
obesity is said to be to keep cool day and night ; exercise plenti- 
fully; do not take too much liquid; for food, beef, mutton, 
poultry, game, some kinds of fish, green vegetables (but no 
potatoes), fruits, cheese, and occasionally tea without milk or 
sugar. Eat sparingly and at regular intervals. 

Where there is a tendency to tuberculosis, or consumption, 
deep breathing should be encouraged, and a very nutritious 
diet used. This is a malady only curable by attention to the 
laws of health. 

Suppression of the menses sometimes takes place suddenly 
by exposure, or mental emotions. In which case use the hot 
sitz bath, and drink freely of hot water ; use the hot enema for 



MENSTRUATION. 169 

the lower bowel and vagina, and go to bed. Relief will usually 
follow such treatment if the case is not too aggravated. 

If the flow cannot be induced by one or two repetitions of 
the treatment, discontinue until the next regular period arrives. 
In the meantime every precaution should be used to establish 
normal health. Bathe daily, eat rationally and regularly, exer- 
cise outdoors, use the hot water flushing of the colon twice a 
week, and keep the mind pleasantly occupied. At the approach 
of the period repeat the hot water treatment. 

Unless there is continuous disturbance do not be uneasy 
about suppression. 

Excessive Menstr uation. 

Menorrhagia is too profuse a flow, a flow that weakens or 
exhausts. Its cause arises in anything that produces too great 
a determination of the blood to the generative system, or in 
debility arising from any cause. Shocks, violent exercise, in- 
juries, difficult labor, too frequent intercourse are among im- 
mediate causes. The excessive flow may occur in the usual 
time of menstrual discharge, or there may be a slighter dis- 
charge occurring as often as two or three times in a month. 

The normal discharge lasts from two to six days, amounting 
to from four to eight ounces. What might be an excessive flow 
in one woman would be but normal in another; temperament 
largely determines the quantity. 

Some of the symptoms of this derangement are shortness of 
breath, great lassitude, faintness, dizziness, headache, leucor- 
rhea between periods, irritable nerves. The general health 
soon yields to the waste, and one becomes an invalid or sacri- 
fices her life. 

In treatment for cure, the cause must be ascertained and 
removed. This is the first thing to be persistently considered 
in chronic diseases. Palliative measures are, of course, taken 



170 MENSTRUATION. 

for immediate relief. For menorrhagia, the temperament must 
be taken into consideration. The woman of feeble constitu- 
tion must be given every opportunity to gain strength. Con- 
genial surroundings, with all sanitary precautions, come among 
the first. Pure air, pure water, pure food of the most nourish- 
ing character; gentle exercise, clothing comfortable, with spe- 
cial attention to the extremities: these are curative agencies 
necessary to recovery of health. The massage is also valuable 
in that it equalizes circulation, and stimulates both muscular 
and nervous system. Perhaps the simplest manner to admin- 
ister is by means of the massage roller, which consists of a 
series of wheels each turning separately. Each wheel is about 
an inch and a half in diameter, on a flexible axle and set in a 
polished handle. The rollers are made in various sizes. These 
are also useful for the plethoric woman in reducing her size and 
weight. 

For excessive flowing in the full-blooded woman over- 
nourishment and overstimulation should be avoided. In both 
temperaments the bowels should be kept freely open. 

Irregularities in menstruating are usually due to ovarian 
disorders. As before remarked, integrity of the menses de- 
pends on ovulation. Ovarian disease, of course, interferes 
with the process of ovulation. 

It sometimes occurs at the dawn of puberty that the girl 
has all the symptoms of the menses except the discharge. This 
will be found to be due to an imperforate hymen, which is 
of rare occurrence. The following case, related by Dr. Crowe 
in the Medical Brief, illustrates the case : 

"Miss N , aged sixteen, had been under treatment for a 

year. Her doctor left the city to be gone for some time, and 
I was called to^see her. On my arrival I found her suffering 
with intense pain in the hypograstic region (lower part of 



MENSTRUATION. 171 

the abdomen). She was almost exhausted. She stated that 
she had been having such attacks every three to five weeks 
in three years, but that the pain got harder and lasted longer 
every month. She had all the symptoms of inflammation 
but the sanguineous flow. Her general health was consider- 
ably impaired, appetite poor, nausea, bowels constipated, con- 
stant headache, face covered with eruptions. She said she had 
never menstruated. I at once suspected imperforate hymen. 
* * * Upon examination I found the abdomen somewhat 
enlarged; the uterus was about the size of a cocoanut, hard 
and firm; the hymeneal membrane had protruded between the 
labia ; the perineum was bulged out and looked as if the head 
of a child at full turn was about to be expelled. The lower 
extremities were considerably dropsical. I punctured the 
hymeneal membrane, permitting a stream of blood the size of 
a knitting needle to flow. I placed clean napkins to the vulva, 
and ordered them changed every three hours until I returned 
next day. I saw her twenty-four hours later. Found her 
quiet, with no pain. During the night they had failed to at- 
tend to the napkins, and her bed and clothing were saturated 
with blood. The uterus was reduced in size. I had the ex- 
ternal genitals cleansed and then made a complete incision 
of the hymeneal membrane, letting out the contents of the 
vagina. I gave her a vaginal douche, put a strip of iodoform 
gauze between the cut edges of the membrane to prevent re- 
adhesion. I then placed a pad of gauze to the vulva, held in 
place by a T bandage, and placed her in a clean bed. 

"When I saw her next day she wanted to- get up. I gave 
her another vaginal douche and directed her to keep small 
pieces of the gauze between the labia to prevent adhesion. 
Next day she got up, and since that time has been attending 
to household duties. Her face has become smooth, no eruption 



172 MENSTRUATION. 

to be seen ; she has since been menstruating without pain every 
twenty-eight days." 

Cleanliness must be observed in regard to the external geni- 
tals. A vaginal douche of tepid water is excellent in connec- 
tion with the daily bath. During the discharge the napkins 
should be changed at least every morning upon dressing and 
at night upon retiring. Absorption of the disorganizing blood 
is not wholesome, of course, and that is what occurs if nap-, 
kins are worn too long because they are not much stained. 

Relative to cleanliness of the private parts, Dr. Foote says : 
"Some physiological lecturers and writers have said that the 
procreative organs have glands which secrete and exude mat- 
ters having a peculiar odor. This is not true. It is true 
that they are liberally supplied with sebaceous glands to moisten 
and lubricate the parts. But these are as pure as the synovial 
fluids which oil the joints. If there are peculiar odors it is 
because the parts have been neglected. The secretions may 
accumulate and undergo a change — become rancid like unsalted 
butter — but this is to be charged to uncleanliness rather than 
to sweet old Mother Nature. In many persons one thorough 
ablution of the parts per day will prevent odor ; in others two 
may be necessary. But whether two, three or a dozen be re- 
quired, every man and woman, every boy and girl, owe it to 
their self-respect and to those with whom they associate to see 
that every part of the body is as clean as the face." 



PART II. 




CHAPTER III. 
The Marriage Relation. 

N erratic genius once said, "Any fool can get mar- 
ried, but it takes a man of sense to resist the tempta- 
tion until he can afford such luxuries." Under the 
prevailing conditions of past and present this ex- 
pression is certainly full of truth. A woman in the partner- 
ship of marriage is a consumer, a non-producer, the husband 
working for the home and family. So the illusion 
that a man of family can live as economically as a 
bachelor is but an illusion. The home-maker may have 
had other and more congenial employment, which she dropped 
to assume the unsalaried position of housewife. It will re- 
quire a measureless love to aid almost any pair to adjust them- 
selves successfully to the new conditions of a new home. 

Preparation before assuming the marriage relation will 
enable any two people of average intelligence to forestall error. 
Error as to the meaning of marriage is responsible for the 
largest percentage of failures in this relationship. This error 
more than likely has its root in early training as to the func- 
tions of sex. But any whose spiritual consciousness has been 
released from the binding force of inertia are eager and 
anxious to behold the face of Truth in all things; they obey 
the injunction, "Seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be 

opened unto you." 

173 



174 THE MARRIAGE RELATION. 

No person not having experienced marriage can understand 
the possibilities of that estate, even though they read all the 
best that has been written on the subject. It might be likened 
to reading of the glories of sea or mountain. One may be 
uplifted by the reading, but can never have a realizing sense 
of the greatness and grandeur until within their environs. At 
first glimpse the mountain or sea may or may not present a 
lovely appearance; but a close association will develop a deep 
peace and restfulness of spirit by which one may realize the 
harmony which pervades the universe. In the true marriage 
the sense is the same. Marriage is a law of nature, obedience 
to which should bring happiness. The laws of life must 
be understood before obedience can be rendered, however. 
Therefore, seek to know the truth according to most recent 
developments. 

Treating the subject in its highest sense, one writer says : 
"Not only do the parties who enter into partnership have a 
very poor conception, and no experience at all of the conditions 
they agree to fulfill, but a great deal of useful knowledge 
which they ought to have is withheld from them under the 
mistaken idea that all which treats of sex is impure and tends 
to degrade humanity. It is difficult to understand how a 
young girl kept in ignorance and taught to repress as degrad- 
ing all sexual desires can be induced to enter the marriage 
relation. It is not difficult to see that if she does enter it 
under such conditions her prospect of happiness is greatly di- 
minished, and why so many regret the step they have rashly 
taken. 

Where Ignorance is Not Bliss. 

"A proper regard for the married happiness of youths of 
both sexes ought to lead to their being taught : 



THE MARRIAGE RELATION. 175 

"i. That sex force is a natural force as pure and as deserv- 
ing of gratification as any force within us. If society has 
placed it under restraint it is not because its expression is de- 
grading to the human character, but because its uncontrolled 
results are inimical to the advance of civilization. (Inside of 
marriage as well as outside.) 

"2. That all expressions of love are due to the presence 
of sex force. These expressions may be such as may be' ac- 
counted most chaste, or they may be coarse and aggressive, 
but the source is the same, and they are all attempts to 
equilibrate the sex force within us. 

"3. That marriage is the legal method for this equilibra- 
tion sanctioned by society, which looks upon it as a sexual con- 
tract, entered upon for the gratification of sexual desires. 

"These are fundamental truths which must be recognized 
and acted upon by all persons entering the marriage relation, 
if they would have a reasonable prospect of living happily in 
their new conditions. 

"Aside from the sexual relation marriage is a union of the 
economical and social resources of the parties concerned, and 
requires for its success many other qualifications, yet these 
conditions are seldom responsible for its failures." 

I do not like the use of the word "gratification" in the fore- 
going; it suggests the realm of the senses exclusively. But 
from the work quoted the writer fully convinces one that he 
is trying to aid to a clean conception of the forces of sex, and 
does not purvey to the sensualist. 

"For Better or for Worse/' 

Adelaide Proctor in a little poem says that 

"A loving woman finds heaven or hell 
On the day she is made a bride." 



176 THE MARRIAGE RELATION. 

This is not unchangeably true. It has often occurred when 
an innocent, ignorant girl, negatively pure, has been married 
to a man of habits positively evil. Trained to the belief that 
intimacy is impure, she may be shocked and horrified to be 
embraced by a man who approaches her without a sense of 
delicacy; and thus she may find "hell." Women sometimes 
sell themselves, or by their parents are sold into a state of 
dependence and sexual subjection, the consideration being a 
home, or a name and respectability, or money, or the belief 
that subjection will be rewarded in the world to come. Both 
husband and wife often believe in the "physical necessity" 
theory on his part. You can almost select them from among 
your friends from their personal appearance and from the 
brood of children that spring from such a parental source. 
He is coarse and dominating, she wan and faded and pathetic, 
the children cringing or unruly; the family anything but 
realizing that the strength of the nation depends upon the in- 
tegrity of home. 

"The, Kreutzer Sonata." 

Another instance of failure occurs where both reciprocate 
in gratifying the animal propensities until the better nature 
is consumed. Tolstoi dwells upon this as a typical marriage in 
his "Kreutzer Sonata." Everybody old enough to contem- 
plate marriage and all the married ought to read "The Kreutzer 
Sonata" to obtain a true picture of the possible horrors of 
modern matrimony. 

But the greatest of the evils resulting from ignorance of 
or unfitness for marriage fall upon the offspring — little weak- 
lings, whose welfare was not consulted before birth, and very 
little afterward. 

Ignorance that expends itself upon a married pair does 



THE MARRIAGE RELATION. 177 

damage enough, but it should be prevented further extension. 
In most women passion is cooled after a few months of mar- 
riage, but their conjugal partners, not so soon to be sated, insist 
upon marital rights. Then comes torture the more keenly felt 
if spiritual consciousness becomes quickened. 

A Mother's Bitter Cry* 

One woman who had lived to look over her past said : 

"The long bitter years of our sowing-time are over; the 
time when unwelcome motherhood was a frequent, and by me 
an insanely dreaded incident, in our home. But God pity us, 
'the harvest is at hand.' We are reaping estrangement from 
each other, growing further and further apart every day ; reap- 
ing also in our children, who are careless of our comfort and 
our wishes. 

"Bless them, they do not know ! It is a marvel to me that 
they are as thoughtful as they are; for you know that no un- 
welcome child can render to its parents that tender, loving 
obedience which is the birthright of those rightly born. 

"You will not misunderstand me. You know me well 
enough to know that my babies were all welcome when they 
came, and for months before they came every thought of them 
was a prayer ; but the act that called them into life was loathed 
with every nerve of my body, and the knowledge that preg- 
nancy had come to me drove me to the verge of insanity. 

"And yet there was a time when my babies were wanted, 
when their inception was welcome, and each pain was gladly 
borne because it was bringing my baby nearer my longing 
arms. That was before I had the loathsome truth burned into 
my soul that, in my husband's mind, my mission in life was to 
gratify his animal desires ; that to this end was I wooed, mar- 
ried and kept; that, no matter what suffering it brought, no 



178 THE MARRIAGE RELATION. 

matter how much my higher nature rebelled, that one demand 
had to be satisfied. That knowledge was love's death-wound ; 
and when love died motherhood became a curse." 

Lillian Harmon in a lecture entitled "The New Martyrdom" 
quotes a physician as saying, "Fatherhood is a man's right, his 
privilege." Surely, surely, it is so. That point is something to 
be respected. A man who craves paternity will so conduct 
himself, even in his bearing toward the child's mother, to in- 
sure the best possible conditions for the beloved offspring. A 
man who craves offspring will (since it is he who has the 
choice) select an intelligent, capable woman to mother these 
desired babies. 

"Choice for Choice, Passion for Passion/* 

A woman who loves, according to a German philosopher, 
will "not meet the passion of man passively, without intelli- 
gence and without will; but, in the consciousness of her equal 
sovereignty and dignity, she ought to demand and exchange 
choice for choice, passion for passion, devotion for devotion, 
adoration for adoration." Such men and such women com- 
mand admiration. To them go life's choicest blessings. 

A certain class of husbands are regardful (?) of their 
wives, having much concern as to enforcing motherhood upon 
them. That is, they will endeavor to find out every available 
means to prevent conception or destroy the fcetus. In most 
instances the wives accept these conditions as the least of two 
evils. However, they are sometimes awakened to self-con- 
sciousness by waning health. When one of such prays to be 
excused from being a passive participant in her own destruc- 
tion, she is met with the taunt, "You no longer love me." 
Love may not have gone at that time, but it cannot be forced 
to remain by sneers and taunts ; go it surely will. 



THE MARRIAGE RELATION. 179 

Wives of these coarse men are many times of the tempera- 
ment which craves affection; but they shrink from caressing 
because the spouse demands intercourse as the inevitable re- 
sult. 

"Amativeness," says Dr. Foote, "may be employed in de- 
veloping and gratifying naturally the social and affectionate 
instincts ; in imparting to woman the strong magnetism devel- 
oped by man; in modifying the masculine elements of man 
with the spiritual aura of woman; in making both sexes 
healthier and happier. It is an escaped tiger from a menagerie 
when it takes on the spirit of selfishness and seeks the grati- 
fication of its impulse without regard to the rights and happi- 
ness of others." 

It is at this point women should spur their individuality 
into action and claim possession of their own bodies. Surely 
the body should belong first and foremost to the ego which 
lives therein. In the language of Mrs. Stanton, "Did it 
ever enter into the mind of man that woman too had an 
inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of her individ- 
ual happiness?" 

Helen Gardner, a woman who has done heroic work for 
her sisters, says: "Self-abnegation — subserviency to man — 
whether he be father or husband, is the most dangerous that 
can be taught or forced upon her whose character shall mold 
the next generation. She has no right to transmit a nature 
and a character that is subservient, subject, inefficient, unde- 
veloped ; in short, a slavish character, which is blindly obedient, 
or blindly rebellious, and is, therefore, set, as in a time-lock, 
to prey or be preyed upon by a society in the future." 

There are many shades of belief as to the marriage rela- 
tion, varying from that which obeys every impulse for inter- 
course to that which only holds the relation for procreation. 



180 THE MARRIAGE RELATION. 

For the latter there is much to be said in its favor, when 
husband and wife are in harmony on the subject. They do 
not exhaust their vital powers; they do not thrust life upon 
helpless innocents without fully considering the possibilities 
of good to 'grow out of the life by them begun. Their babies 
are "desired, designed and loved into existence." Dr. Cow- 
an, in "The Science of a New Life," advocates intercourse 
for procreation only, but he seems not to have understood 
that sexual powers are as clean as we choose to make them; 
to him all who do not agree as to his idea must necessarily 
be wrong. 

Dianism — The Love-Union, 

There is a practice acceptable to many which is called 
Dianism. Married pairs who agree to live according to the 
precepts of Dianism preserve the lover love of courtship in- 
definitely, provided they do not live in different mental at- 
mospheres. These equilibrate the male and female elements 
by all the pretty and pleasing attentions that lovers use during 
courtship, and in the marital couch embrace each other in 
the state of nudity. The interchange of magnetic elements 
tranquilizes and strengthens each of the participants. 

Says an advocate of Dianism, "As men develop marriage 
is looked upon as something more than a procreation asso- 
ciation." Which saying is true, whether all progressive peo- 
ple are believers in Dianism or not. 

Another practice for equalizing sex force in the marriage 
relation is much the same as Dianism, except that husband 
and wife unite as for intercourse, but agree to what is termed 
a love-union. The exchange is magnetic; in neither is the 
union allowed to culminate in the nervous spasm called the 
orgasm. The union of complementary male and female ele- 



THE MARRIAGE RELATION. 181 

ments is perfect where there is mental as well as magnetic 
harmony. Procreation is entirely controlled by either of the 
above methods. The male impregnating- fluid is retained to 
develop man's own organism. Numberless advocates of man's 
physical need to discharge the product of his generative system 
say it is contrary to nature when this product is retained; or 
that it is disastrous to health. This idea is combatted by 
the best thinkers of both sexes. Those seriously seeking for 
Truth are not going to turn from her when found because she 
may not look as they wish she would. Acton says: "It is 
a generally received idea that semen, after having been se- 
creted, can be reabsorbed into circulation, giving buoyancy to 
the feelings and the manly vigor which characterizes the 
male. * * * In fact who is ignorant that the semen reab- 
sorbed into the animal economy augments in astonishing de- 
gree the corporeal and mental forces?" 

"Steam is water transmitted into power and motion through 
heat and machinery," says a recent periodical. "Vitality is 
food transmitted into life through the marvelous mechanism 
of the human body. How it shall manifest itself depends 
upon the will of the individual." The balance wheel of hu- 
man power, lying as it does in the sex-nature, may be set at 
naught very easily by lack of self-control. "By their fruits 
ye shall know them." That which assists individual un- 
foldment to bless society is good ; vice versa. 

A Weary Wife's Sad Story, 

The fruits of uncontrolled procreation and marital indul- 
gence are too well known to need repetition, but it will not 
be inappropriate to quote from a letter written by a mid- 
dle-aged woman to a young woman contemplating matri- 
mony. What is said illustrates a not uncommon phase of 
married life : 



182 THE MARRIAGE RELATION. 

"Your letter came today. I will do something I don't often 
do — go back into my own past life — when I was a wife. I 
was married when only sixteen to a man I loved as well and 
had just as much faith in as you have in your lover. My 
motives were just as true as your own, and I meant to be the 
best wife in the world. He meant to be good, too, I have 
no doubt, but because we were not adapted to each other we 
were made wretched. He was twenty-two; strong, healthy, 
and with large sexual demands; while I was young, with 
my passional nature undeveloped; and from this one cause 
sprang all the trouble. I thought him exacting and selfish, 
and he thought me unaccommodating and capricious. I 
wanted to be loved and petted, but could not go near him 
without exciting his passion, and as soon as he was gratified 
he would answer my tears and reproaches with 'Damn you, 
keep away from me, then.' If I refused, his great, strong 
fingers would sink into my flesh and force would compel sub- 
mission. Think how it would seem to see yourself spotted 
with black and blue marks from a husband's fingers, and this 
not for once only, but never to be quite free from them. 
Now, don't think mine an extreme case. He meant to be a 
good husband and thought he was. He gave me 'a good 
home,' and I did not have to work, and all he asked was 
what marriage is supposed to secure to every husband. He 
did not intend to be unreasonable and thought and said, The 
sooner you do as I say the sooner we will have peace.' I 
thought so, too, and tried hard to be an obedient wife. I 
would resolve not to resist again, but the Scotch blood was 
strong; there was too much freedom in my nature, and be- 
fore I knew it I was fighting away 'tooth and nail.' As a 
result I would be bruised and beaten, and perhaps made sick 
and have a doctor before I got over it. Two little babies 
were literally killed before they were born, and the one that 



THE MARRIAGE RELATION. 183 

did live I have seen often in convulsions from 'sexual vice,' 
either a transmitted tendency or a birthmark due to the 
infernal nastiness I was forced to witness during pregnancy. 
When at last I watched his little life go out, I knew that he 
was spared a life of imbecility or idiocy, and I could not 
mourn. It is a terrible thing to endure the agony of child- 
birth without its compensating hope or joy; to know through 
it all that your baby is already dead. Killed, too, in such a 
way; and knowing that even if you live through this it 
will be only to repeat the same thing over and over again. 
* * * I am an old woman, worn out and weary. I have 
lived a homeless, hopeless, loveless life; and, looking back, I 
can see that being unequally yoked in marriage has been the 
cause." 

The abnormal sexual appetite common to the adult man is 
due to a number of causes, among which may be named stim- 
ulating food and drink, and a continuous dwelling upon 
sexual subjects. "If a man engages in physical exercise the 
muscles become developed; if he engages in intellectual study, 
the brain becomes enlarged and developed; and if his sexual 
organs are constantly in a state of excitement from allowing 
his attention to be continually directed to this sphere, then 
they must become abnormally developed/' says Dr. Elliott. 

Man's Ungoverned Passion* 

Outside of marriage a man is punished who forces his 
sexual attentions upon a woman. In what way is wrong 
made into right by the legal form uttered by clergyman or 
judge? Wrong cannot be made into right. "Love work- 
eth no ill to his neighbor." 

Says Dr. Perrin : "If Newton, Kant, Fontanelle and Beet- 
hoven could live their many honored years with no indul- 



184 THE MARRIAGE RELATION. 

gence of passion, surely other men might abstain without 
injury. The ungoverned passion of man is prolific of evil; 
and, like producing like, the father who has never learned 
self-control may give his son not only form and feature, but 
the germ of the same fierce, clamorous desire, which in its 
full development will prove a heritage of woe to that son 
and others. That which polite language veils under the 
designation of social evil, and which desolates so many happy 
homes and brings its quick black harvest of misery, remorse, 
disease and death, chiefly lives because man does not know 
aright, does not duly reverence and honor woman and keep 
in subjection that which may become one of the monster pas- 
sions of his heart." 

Happy Marriage Affords the Only Security* 

There is no physical craving for sensual gratification in the 
mind that has inherited no taint, any more than there is a 
natural craving for alcoholics. Men and women, both young 
and old, will seek the society of opposites, in accordance with 
nature's law, just as plants turn to the sun. But they will only 
love in physical union when soul meets soul, and mind and 
body harmonize. Marriage is the only estate that finds per- 
fect security for the best development of the two who so 
unite. The blending of sex-force generates health and 
strength, physically, mentally, spiritually. Blessed be happy 
marriage. Therein the true man and woman meet on an 
equal footing and realize the highest form of comradery and 
friendship. 

True happiness depends upon the highest use of faculties 
and privileges. When used in cheap pleasures they deteri- 
orate; satiety comes in the place of satisfaction. 

Mrs. Burnz tells the story of a young married couple who 
loved each other, but who were ignorant of means to control 



THE MARRIAGE RELATION. 185 

generation. In five years there were four babies who had 
come to them. Then the husband decided that the load of 
care for them both was becoming too heavy, and made up his 
mind to restrain his sexual appetite. He was successful, and 
remained a devoted friend and lover of his wife and a kindly, 
considerate parent to their babies. This is possible and best 
to some, while to others the sexual love-union embraces the 
beauty and pleasures of marriage. The love-union is as dis- 
tinct from the full procreative act as the kiss or caress. "If it 
is noble and beautiful for the betrothed lover to respect the 
law of marriage in the midst of the glories of courtship, it 
may be even more noble and beautiful for the wedded lover 
to respect the unwritten laws of health and propagation in the 
midst of the ecstasies of sexual union." 

Exchange of magnetic elements rebuilds waning vitality; 
while the full procreation act, which ends with ejaculation of 
the seminal fluid, and a nervous spasm on the part of both par- 
ticipants, offers no compensation to either, except gratification 
of the animal impulse. It is only right when children are 
desired. 

"Opportunity Makes Importunity/' 

Married people should not occupy the same sleeping-room, 
or if the same room, not the same bed. No two people should 
sleep together. But the custom has prevailed so largely in 
conjugal life, to many people marriage means the legal privi- 
lege of sleeping together. For the control of the procreative 
impulse nothing better aids than separate rooms or separate 
beds. "Opportunity makes importunity," says Dr. William 
Hall. "If married persons slept in different rooms the in- 
dulgence would only be thought of when there existed a nat- 
ural, healthy appetite." 



186 THE MARRIAGE RELATION. 

If there is any one thing I would recommend especially 
to young people about to marry it would be not to plan their 
home without single beds for their own use. This is an im- 
mense step in advance of the past and will be a great aid in 
controlling the marriage relation, to their mutual uplifting 
and profit. Double beds are a relic of a primitive age, and 
should be relegated to the past with other things which the 
present has outgrown. And no matter who else may sleep 
together, husband and wife should not. 



PART II. 




CHAPTER IV. 
Conception and Pre-Natal Culture* 

'HE truism, "To be well born is the right of every 
child," includes many volumes of pregnant truth. 
And the very beginning of it is that conception must 
occur purposely, designedly, the outgrowth of the 
love of parents. 

No woman should allow herself to be made a mother unless 
she chooses maternity; no true man will gratify his animal 
appetite for procreation at another's expense. As before 
mentioned, the function of amativeness is separate from the 
procreative function. The proper use of the sexual organs 
for love's expression raises the marital embrace to a spiritual 
plane where it ceases to be degrading. 

"Evolution means progress," says G Staniland Wake, "and 
progress implies improvement, without which there could be 
no evolution ; but improvement of the human race will not be 
further possible unless the marriage relation is regarded from 
a higher standpoint than that of sexual indulgence." 

Among many books written to solve the question of un- 
checked procreation, two by George N. Miller stand out bold- 
ly : "The Strike of a Sex" and "Zugassent's Discovery." In 
the former the strike is presumed on account of enforced moth- 
erhood. It is ended by "Zugassent's Discovery," which re- 

187 



188 CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 

lieves womankind of the tortures of unwelcome maternity. 
Mrs. Stanton many years ago said: "So long as children 
are conceived in weariness and disgust you must not look 
for high-toned men and women capable of accomplishing any 
great and good achievement." She was a seer — one who 
perceived the germ of true progress. 

"Zugassent's Discovery/' 

The love-union, called by Miller "Zugascent's Discovery," 
stops short of seminal ejaculation by the husband and short 
of the orgasm by the wife. Arguing for marital self-culture, 
"Zugassent" says: 

"Man's superiority to the brutes is read in his continual 
advance in the conquest of nature. The brutes stand still; 
men reflect, energize and conquer. The seeds of the final 
supremacy over nature lie in the full subjection of man's own 
body to his intelligent will. There are already an abundance 
of familiar facts showing the influence of education and direct 
discipline in developing the powers of the body. We see 
men every day who, by attention and painstaking investiga- 
tion and practice in some mechanical art, have gained power 
over their muscles for certain purposes, which to the mere 
natural man would be impossible or miraculous. In music 
the great violinists and pianists are examples." 

Among the more refined of humankind, sexual communion 
is voluntary; among the uncultured the physical union is 
regarded as a necessity. Contrast the usefulness of the two 
classes. In the kingdom of lower animals all courting has 
for its aim and end procreation; they obey the same instinct 
as when time began. But the undeveloped human does not 
stop with procreation. The act is repeated in season and 
out of season, pregnancy or not. It is marvelous, not that 



CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 189 

so many sickly or idiotic babes are born, but that so many 
are born as bright as they are. 

It is not an easy work to overcome the prejudice of ages in 
regard to the marriage relation. Only those of progressive 
tendencies will give heed to new ideas. Even with them it 
often requires much time and many volumes to convince. 

The Mind's Power Over the Body. 

Objectors to marital self-control argue that it is against 
nature. They are in error. Self-control works with nature 
to perfect the machinery of the human mind and body. 
What may seem at first impossible is, in reality, only impos- 
sible to those lacking in character. Any of the departments 
of the body are under control of the mind, in a greater or 
less degree. As breathing, for instance. This goes on un- 
consciously, enough to sustain life. But conscious breathing, 
deep and full, increases health, increases the power to resist 
disease. Culture aids in improving nature in every bodily 
function. Nowhere else is improvement more needed than 
that of the sex function. When used especially for physical 
union, sex tends to the animal origin, but when raised above 
the plane of feeling or emotion the whole nature partakes of 
the uplifting. "He is most powerful who has himself in 
power." 

Following are a few extracts from testimonials printed by 
G. N. Miller : 

A Four Years' Honeymoon* 

"For two years after becoming engaged I delayed marriage 
because I did not think my income sufficient to support wife 
and children. Happily for me, a friend wrote me about 
'Zugassent's Discovery.' The ideas contained therein were 
so different from all my preconceived ideas of what consti- 



190 CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 

tuted marital happiness, I was inclined to reject them as im- 
practical and absurd. But the "more I thought of the matter 
the more clearly I saw that if there was a possibility of 
these new ideas being true, they were exactly adapted to a 
man in my circumstances. * * * The wholly new 
thought that retaining the vital force within himself would 
naturally make a man stronger, cleaner and better also seemed 
to me not irrational. * * * I have had a continuous 
honeymoon for four years besides having the daily benefit of 
my wife's invaluable help in our business. * * * In the 
light of my own experience I regard the idea that the seminal 
fluid is a secretion to be got rid of as being the most per- 
nicious and fatal one that can possibly be taught to young 
people." 

— "Since my husband became acquainted with 'Zugas- 
sent's Discovery' he has endeared himself to me a hundred- 
fold. * * * His very step sends a thrill through me, 
for I know my beloved will grasp me and clasp me and kiss 
me as only the most enthusiastic lover can. * * * But 
it is not alone as a cherishing lover that my husband has be- 
come my crown of happiness. He has grown perceptibly 
nobler in character, in purpose, in strength, in all the qualities 
that make a man Godlike, so that besides a lover I have a 
strong friend and wise counselor." 

— "It avoids the opposite evils of asceticism and self-indul- 
gence, and does more than any other single thing to make 
marriage a perpetual courtship. I am a husband of fifteen 
years' standing, and therefore speak of matters that are not 
strange to me." 

— "My age is seventy, and, thanks to 'Zugassent's Dis- 
covery,' my health is good, and I am as vigorous as ever I 
was. My only regret is that I was not informed of it earlier 



CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 191 

in life. It is not only a splendid sanitary measure, but is the 
promoter of the greatest harmony in domestic life I know. 
* * * While in this practice a new life is not developed, 
both parties experience a renewal of life force which is in 
the highest degree wholesome." 

Reproduction on Incident, Not the End, of Life. 

The bringing into existence of children is not woman's 
business in life, no more than it is man's. Together they 
call a being into life. But to woman has fallen the chief bur- 
den of the care of offspring. Many teachers and preachers 
of the "obsolete and decrepit past" have over and over again 
said that motherhood was the sole object of woman's exist- 
ence, until many yet believe it. It is like hypnotic sugges- 
tion ; so many have received the idea without question or anal- 
ysis, being perfectly passive subjects. 

The trenchant pen of a modern thinker quite recently gave 
expression to this thought : "There is nothing in the achieve- 
ments of human motherhood to prove that it is for the ad- 
vantage of the race to have women give all their time to> it. 
Giving all their time to it does not improve it either in quan- 
tity or quality." 

Motherhood does complete woman's development, but when 
she is made to reproduce, like the cow or female bison, only 
the animal department of her nature is given opportunity. It 
is something to be a complete woman, but it is more to be a 
fully rounded-out human with mind and soul and body per- 
fected equally. Reproduction, for best results for all con- 
cerned, should be an incident and not the aim and end of life. 

The Desirability of Offspring* 

Having said so much as to controlling procreation, the 
desirability of offspring is well worth consideration. 



192 CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 

In men and women of natural development parental love 
is an instinct. To many married people children come only 
as consequences of the sexual relation, are merely to be dealt 
with at the least possible inconvenience to themselves. But these 
are not the parents through whom the race improves. Ma- 
terial for proper parentage is rarely found in social extremes. 
Poverty too often closes the avenues of insight, or callouses 
the germs of good that they cannot grow; while in the ma- 
jority of extremely rich, the pursuit of entertainment, dress, 
frivolities draw them away from the better things. 

"Fra Elbertus" says: 'The rich are not the leisure class; 
and they need education no less than the poor. 'Lord, en- 
lighten thou the rich/ should be the prayer of every one who 
works for progress. 'Give clearness to their mental percep- 
tions; awaken in them the receptive spirit; soften their cal- 
lous hearts and arouse their powers of reason.' Danger lies 
in their folly, not in their wisdom; their weakness is to be 
feared, not their strength." To the which we add "Amen." 

The wealthy have the power to aid their opposites, the 
poverty-oppressed. Who will approach conservatism from 
within and arouse its latent energies for good ? 

But wherever true enlightenment exists, poverty and wealth 
are equally powerless against parental love. There may be 
special reasons why there should be no reproduction; health 
may not be such as to justify it; the family resources may 
be too limited, etc. However, instead of lavishing their en- 
tire affections upon a cat or lap-dog, they can give of their 
best to the unloved children of the world, who are many. 

"Love somebody. Help somebody. Lift up somebody. 
Bless somebody. This is the divine law. 



CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 193 
The Blessing: of Unselfishness. 

"Live not unto yourself alone. Forget your selfish schemes. 
Get out of the narrow shell of your egotism. Brighten the 
lives of those around you. Make the cup of life sweeter for 
some other of God's children." Thus admonishes one of 
our modern prophets. Many childless people shrivel up 
within themselves, though, indeed, many parents ask only 
for Heaven's blessings on "me and my wife, my son John 
and his wife. Us four, and no more." 

For the generation of another being male and female ele- 
ments are necessary. Woman and man are equally human, 
equally responsible in the begetting of another life. 

"It is a far more awful thing to give than to take life," 
Helen Gardner says. "In the one case you invade personal 
liberty and put a stop to an existence more or less valuable and 
happy. In the other case in giving life you invade the liberty 
of infinite oblivion and thrust into an inhospitable world 
another human entity to struggle, to sink, to swim, to suffer or 
to enjoy; whether one or the other no mortal knows, but surely 
knows it must contend not only with its environment, but 
with heredity- — with itself." These things the selfish will 
reproduce oftener than they who would only endow their 
progeny with what is best. But, as another writer asserts, 
"One good man like George Washington, Peter Cooper or 
Dean Stanley is worth to the world many hundred ordinary 
people." 

What is Required to Have Weil-Born Offspring* 

The requisites for having a well-born child are so simple 
no persons who really desire to be parents of such offspring 
need to fail in the attempt. The child must be "desired, de- 
signed and loved into existence," as the first requisite. If any 



194 CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 

special endowment for usefulness is desired the minds of both 
parents should, before conception, be filled with thoughts 
concerning the same. Any specialized art or industry may 
be chosen. Whatever is best concerning that branch should 
be read and talked about for some time previous to the act 
which calls the beloved one into life. Those who do not 
practice the full propagative act at all times do not need to 
be cautioned to refrain from it for at least two weeks prior 
to conception. 

Menstruation is a special preparation of the lining mem- 
brane of the uterus for reception of impregnated ovum. Hence 
to be most in accord with natural conditions, impregnation 
should occur soon after the menstrual flow. In normal woman 
creative life speaks loudest soon after the menses. 

The child's character is influenced very largely by the mo- 
ment of conception, and to become endowed with the best 
qualities of each parent, morning, when mind and body have 
been refreshed by rest, should be chosen as the time for launch- 
ing a new life. 

After this the most susceptible time in human development 
exists for nine months. They should be loving, beautiful, 
joyful, harmonious months. 

The Process of Sexual Generation. 

Prof. Haeckel, the scientist, tells us that "The process of 
fertilization in sexual generation depends essentially on the 
fact that two dissimilar cells meet and blend. * * * It con- 
sists merely in the fact that the male sperm-cell coalesces 
with the female egg-cell. Owing to its sinuous movements 
the very mobile sperm-cell finds its way to the female egg- 
cell, penetrates the membrane of the latter by a perforating 
motion and coalesces with its cell material. " 



CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 195 

The female germ is larger than the male germ, but fewer 
are produced. The ovum is calculated to vary from one-one- 
hundred-twentieth (1-120) of an inch in diameter to one one- 
hundred- fortieth (1-140) of an inch; while the spermatozoon 
is about one six-hundredth (1-600) of an inch in length. The 
ovum is composed of the life-germ, and material to support 
life for a few days after impregnation. It has two membranes, 
the ammion and the chorion. The spermatozoon, under the 
microscope, is shown to have a head, and a thread-like append- 
age, or tail. These cells are produced in enormous numbers. 
Every ejaculation of semen contains some millions of them. 
Observation has shown the spermatozoa to differ in power 
of movement and perfection of development. In proportion 
to their size the journey through the mouth of the uterus 
to find the ovum is a long one, and only the most vigorous are 
capable of making it. The spermatozoa do not have power 
of movement until other secretions are added, as when ejac- 
ulated: within the testicle the seed is jelly-like, and seems 
to consist of bundles of fibers ; when the fibers are separated as 
they are in passing to the seminal vesicles, the shape of the 
spermatozoon may be seen. In the procreative act in com- 
plete union the mouth of the womb meets the head of the 
penis and the semen is thrown directly into the uterus. But 

even where the wife is a passive participant, and the seed is 
left in the vagina, the spermatozoa may live for hours or even 
days, and find their way within the uterus. They are assisted 
by the ciliated epithelium lining the cervix, or neck of the 
womb, the microscopic cilia which vibrate toward the interior 
aiding their progress. 

As soon as conception takes place a new life is begun. From 






196 CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 

that time parents should strive to make the best possible con- 
ditions for the child. 

For nine months the mother carries the new being within 
her own body. During this time, it is both her duty and 
that of the child's father to do all in their power that the 
child may be a wholesome, well-developed specimen of its 
species. 

No married couple will desire, design and love a babe into 
existence without the first requisite — good physical health. 
They can transmit only what they possess. Mr. Grant Allen 
said: "To prepare ourselves for the duties of paternity and 
maternity by making ourselves as vigorous and healthful as 
we can be is a duty we owe to children unborn and to one 
another.' ' 

The Period of Pregnancy. 

Throughout the period of pregnancy the prospective moth- 
er should exercise daily with the view to strengthening the 
back and limbs, but neither at gymnastics nor manual labor 
should she exhaust herself, or the child would be lacking in 
vitality. Where a woman does her own housework, during 
the last few months it is always well to hire a maid-of-all- 
work to share the labor and responsibilities while the mother- 
to-be rests and attends to her own and her babe's needs. To 
those to whom this appears impossible it may be added that it 
is economy in the right place. When strength is exhausted in 
pregnancy more will be expended in doctor's bills for mother 
and child than the cost of an assistant five times over. To live 
properly is to obey nature's laws, one of which is, do not ex- 
ercise to exhaustion. This is imperative in pregnancy. On 
the other hand, a life of inactivity is worse; the muscles get 
flabby and all the functions of the body are poorly performed, 
from which both mother and babe suffer. 



CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 197 

Helpful Physical Exercise* 

A simple, restful, helpful exercise is that of lying flat upon 
the back, and preferably upon the floor. Inhale through the 
nostrils until no more air can be contained, and then slowly 
exhale until the lungs are deflated. Repeat several times, or 
as often as possible without causing dizziness. Rest passively 
for some moments and then try to assume a sitting posture 
without touching the hands : the back is very much strength- 
ened by such exercise. The muscles of back and abdomen 
are those most needed in parturition, and which when quite 
strong do not cause pain and exhaustion, so commonly the 
fate of women. 

An excellent breathing exercise for pregnant women, in 
particular those who customarily wear corsets and tight cloth- 
ing, is this : Stand upright with heels touching and toes 
turned out; place hands on hips, fingers resting on the dia- 
phragm, thumbs on soft part of the back. Inhale slowly 
through the nostrils, deeply, until the hands feel the waist 
expansion. Repeat about five times at first, increasing the 
number of times at each exercise. Conventional dress pre- 
vents this part of the body from developing in size and 
strength. 

Before beginning any exercise the erect position should be 
assumed : Raise the chest, draw in the abdomen, extend the 
joints to their full limits, hold the crown of the head high and 
the chin in. 

The Value of Rest* 

Rest is the natural sequence of exercise. The body has 
best opportunity for preservation when rest and exercise 
equal each other. Exercise in pregnancy enough to become 
agreeably weary, and then rest. Rest often means a change 



198 CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 

of occupation. If, after exercise and a bath, the senses do 
not call for sleep, follow some line of study, especially that 
line with which you would wish the babe endowed. This 
should be persistently followed throughout the duration of 
pregnancy, though never to the extent of causing brain- weari- 
ness.. Idleness will result in a dull, inactive child. Ennui 
should be regarded as a danger-signal. Idleness must not 
have place in the being of one seeking for the heights. In- 
dustry is a lord of nature. One can not go forward and not 
be active. "The work which is performed with pleasure and 
activity of the emotions is retained as a permanent acquisition 
in the development of character.' , 

There are some whose duties fill all their waking hours, 
and to those especially should come an hour of repose — abso- 
lute rest. "The habit of repose brings capacity for presence 
of mind; it brings the mind into condition to act promptly 
in emergencies. To increase and store up power is the am- 
bition of all, but how to accomplish this is a knowledge be- 
longing to few." "Mental stress may be greatly relieved by 
assuming an easy position and thinking only of rest." 

"The very thought of repose brings a feeling of repose. Be- 
lieve you can get rest of mind through rest of body, and you 
can do so. Believe you can have easy mental attitudes through 
easy physical attitudes, and you are in possession of a valuable 
receipt for health and strength." — Dr. Mary R. Melendy. 

When she goes to her room to rest, the housewife should 
loosen every garment that in any way compresses or restricts 
her muscles. She should lie flat upon her couch, or bed, and, 
with the idea of rest uppermost, breathe deeply, calmly. It 
may aid her to repeat the word "rest." Relax, give up all 
other thought but that of rest, calmness, peace, and she will 



CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 199 

be restored to herself and be of far more service to her family 
than had she kept on and on with the duty which may become 
a grind. 

The Need of Fresh Air* 

Fresh air is of the utmost importance. It is relatively 
more than food and drink to the economy of the body. And 
every mother-to-be should spend as many waking hours- as 
possible out of doors, filling her lungs with the good air of 
heaven. One authority says : "Four or five hours of out-door 
breathing, daily, is the very least compatible with health for 
adults." There is vitality and strength to be gained from out- 
door exercise that cannot be gained in an equal proportion 
by any of the very best indoor arrangements. Contact with 
Mother Earth conveys away any superfluous bodily electricity 
that might otherwise make one "nervous." 

Dress During Pregnancy. 

The dress of a pregnant woman should be light and com- 
fortable. There must be absolutely no compression through 
the vital regions; none, in fact, anywhere on the body. It 
has been plentifully demonstrated that woman's dress may be 
both artistic and hygienic; that it may even follow lines of 
conventional suggestion and yet be healthful. But the preg- 
nant woman has all the reasons for assuming flowing robes; 
she dare not, in justice to herself and babe, try to bind herself 
into the skin-tight bodice of the fashion-plate dress. 

The union undergarment, the comfortable bust supporter, to 
which may be attached hose supporters and a skirt, are the 
only undergarments needed. The outside garment may be a 
pretty Empire dress, or a tea jacket with a skirt attached to 
the bust-supporter. The dress for street wear can be made 
with an Eton or Blazer jacket, and skirt built upon the gown 






200 CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 

form. The form may be made adjustable as to darts, and 
trimmed in front of waist to correspond to a shirt-waist front ; 
the fastening is in the back and concealed by the jacket. Any 
kind of desirable neckwear may be worn. There are several 
bust supporters on the market any of which may be secured 
for the cost of an ordinary corset. And the comfort and sat- 
isfaction from wearing- them is many hundred per cent over 
the barbarous corset and conventional dress. 

Neither deep breathing nor helpful exercise can be practiced 
unless the dress is such as not to restrict. Neither can the 
functions of the body be well performed unless dress is in har- 
mony therewith. A writer on dress in the Gentlewoman says : 
"We are restless and feverish because we do not give our en- 
ergies to the most important things, which a greater simplicity 
in material directions would allow us to do. Therefore to 
occupy our improperly neglected energies we continually make 
variety in unimportant matters. 

"However, what if we become convinced that simplicity was, 
after all, the greatest beauty? As it is, have you never no- 
ticed that beautiful people, or people of impressive personality, 
as a rule wear no odds and ends — fripperies and multitudinous 
trimmings, danglings and j anglings? The first, from some 
instinct that they need no enhancements; the second, because 
their attention is given to more momentous things that put at 
once all petty ones out of accord with their feelings, also their 
notice." 

The idea of the article is to consider and separate the essen- 
tials from the non-essentials. Immaculate simplicity as to 
home or person appeals most for the respect of those whose 
respect is worth while. 



CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 201 
Diet During: Pregnancy. 

Diet is very important in pregnancy. Its purity and whole- 
someness are items of consequence at all times, but at this 
time such food as is heating to the blood, or rich in bone- 
forming material, should be avoided. For the former, eat of 
fruits plentifully. If this suggestion is observed, with others 
of hygienic value herein noted, there will be no danger, of 
that scourge, child-bed fever. Select such fruits as are agree- 
able to the palate and eat freely of the same at the beginning 
of each meal. 

The nausea, which is the horror of so many women, known 
as morning sickness, is often overcome by the fruit diet. A 
chief source of nausea is intercourse during pregnancy. If 
nausea persists, and intercourse is a habit, it should certainly 
be discontinued, though it may be said that morning sickness 
is one of the least of ills resulting from the marital practice 
of copulation during pregnancy. 

Women inclined to obesity should particularly avoid eating 
too much. The old saying that a pregnant woman eats for 
two is done threadbare. It is true that another occupies her 
body with her; but when it is remembered that the average 
babe only weighs about seven pounds and has nine months in 
which to grow to that size, it will be seen that double eating 
is not necessary, even in the case of the thin woman. One 
does not want a large, fat baby so much as a healthy, well- 
formed one. Overeating will bring on digestive derange- 
ment in the majority of cases, and any disease must be guarded 
against. Eat only enough to satisfy hunger ; do not force the 
appetite if not hungry, and do restrain any tendency to over- 
eating, which easily may be made a habit. Large babies are 
hard to be delivered of. It is often necessary to separate the 
parts of the child's body and bring it lifeless into the world, 



202 CONCEPTION AND PRE-N AT AL . CULTURE. 

to save its mother, which cases are due to the "eating for 
two" theory. Where the mother is stout, labor is usually 
difficult, and many times the tedious labor destroys the baby's 
life. These things are too serious to be the result of careless- 
ness during pregnancy ; the appetites should be restrained from 
unnatural development for sake of the babe's character-build- 
ing as well as his physical good. Pre-natal influence shapes 
the future individual. All that education and environment 
can do after birth is to make the individual a good, bad or in- 
different specimen of the kind decided by heredity and pre- 
natal influences. 

There sometimes exist peculiar cravings for stimulants or 
condiments or certain articles of food, which may in a lim- 
ited degree be gratified, else the mind dwelling often on the 
subject may imprint the craving on the child. Any woman 
who knows the first principles of hygiene knows that coffee, 
tea and alcoholics are not food ; they are but stimulants to spur 
bodily or mental powers to greater exertion; when reaction 
comes exhaustion is much greater than otherwise. The habit 
of using stimulants for years undermines even a strong con- 
stitution, and when the weakness is felt it is attributed to 
advancing years instead of to bad habits. 

Do not give too much consideration to what is to go into 
the stomach. It is good for neither mother nor babe. Fill 
the mind with wholesome, uplifting thoughts for others, and 
the child will reward you a thousandfold in his regard for 
others than self. 

Bathing During Pregnancy* 

Bathing is to be religiously observed at this time. In 
forming a body for the new being more secretions are thrown 
out' of the system and need to be removed. The bath is a 
tonic, too, especially valuable. 



CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 203 

There should be a sponge bath upon arising in the morning, 
having care that the temperature of the room is warm enough. 
Cold water is best ; if the room is warm a good reaction comes 
on at once, in normal health, and the tonic effect is in the 
reaction. 

During the last months there should be, in addition to the 
sponge, a sitz-bath daily. This consists in bathing the hips 
and abdomen only, sitting in any vessel of suitable size. The 
water at first may be tepid, and the temperature gradually 
lowered to about 60 degrees F. Any feverishness of that 
part of the body is allayed thereby. After remaining in the 
bath for five to fifteen minutes, dry the body and rub briskly 
with the hand for some minutes. 

It is always well to arrange for this bath at a time when it 
is convenient to follow it with a sleep. Bathing naturally 
puts one on better terms with her conscience, and in the pros- 
pective mother creates a love of cleanliness in the child. 

In connection with the sitz-bath it is recommended that oil 
of some kind be well rubbed into the abdomen. A corre- 
spondent of the Journal of Medicine says : "Use either 
sweet oil, cocoanut oil, vaseline, or the old-fashioned goose 
oil. This diminishes much of the feeling of tightness caused 
by the pressure, and prevents the formation of those stria? 
found upon the abdomen of most multipara, caused by atrophic 
condition of the skin layers and obliteration of the lymph 
spaces. By this treatment the skin is made so elastic, and the 
circulation through it so improved, these atrophic changes do 
not take place." 

The same physician recommends that the perineum, the 
space between the anus and vaginal opening, partake of the 
treatment. "I also urge that the perineum be thoroughly 
oiled and stretched each day. Our patients derive a double 



204 CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 

benefit from this care ; the long delay of the head at the outlet 
is avoided and many times we are able to deliver a primipara 
of a large child, as was illustrated a few weeks ago by Mrs. 

A . When she had called she said her mother and all 

her relatives had had a 'hard time.' I gave careful directions 
about the oil, and she was very thorough in its use. When she 
came to be confined I found a large child and a face presenta- 
tion, and although labor was slow, there was not a nick in the 
perineum." 

Lacerations of the perineum usually occur with the first- 
born, and pave the way for uterine displacements. 

Hardly less important than the external bath is the internal 
( bath, which consists of washing away the refuse from the 
colon, or large intestine. In a state of nature mankind does 
not bathe for health. Sometimes both sexes swim for love 
of movement and the glow it gives, while knowing nothing of 
advantages to health. Of course they know nothing of internal 
cleanliness. 

The Internol Both* 

Civilized man has prepared plentifully, oftentimes elab- 
orately, for bathing the external surface, but is inclined to 
consider as unnatural the suggestion of regular internal cleans- 
ing. Taking an injection has been some years in common 
use to wash away refuse from the rectum, which is but the 
last end of the colon. For this just a little water is used. It 
does not overcome the tendency to constipation, and the full 
internal bath does. 

We are not living near enough to the state of nature that 
the sewer system of the body can be ignored. Just as the 
waste pipes of the water system of a city should be flushed, 
cleansed and disinfected, those of the human system should be 



CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 205 

treated. These cleanings can be administered by the bulb 
syringe, or better, by the fountain syringe. And there is a 
specially constructed syringe called the "Cascade," intended 
especially for cleansing the colore 

In pregnancy the bowels should never be allowed to be- 
come clogged. In addition to being a general bad condition, 
the colon packed with refuse matter may, by pressure on the 
uterus, cause other morbid symptoms. 

Character in Embryo* 

The social, intellectual and spiritual character of a human 
being may be molded in embryo by pre-natal influence. Dr. 
Holbrook says : "It is essential, therefore, if children are 
to be well-born, that parents should be careful that at the mo- 
ment of procreation they are fitted for the performance of 
so serious an act." Passing the moment of conception, other 
molding influences begin, but if a child is already begotten 
by, say, a passive, submissive mother and a drunken, sensual 
father, a bad beginning is already made, which no good in- 
fluences can wholly eradicate. 

Any one who has seen shy, self-distrustful children may 
well conclude that the mother was one of those foolish ones 
who "went and hid herself" while in the family way. This 
conventional shyness is an injustice to the babe as well a: 
to the mother. She should then as always mingle in the so- 
ciety of congenial friends for the cheering effect on both her- 
self and the child. Alone too much, she will be prone to be- 
come morbid and think of self, and give to her babe a lonely, 
selfish disposition. 

The business of housewifery isolates one more or less from 
the world of general activity. Treading too exclusively in one 



206 CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 

way causes a groove or rut to form, which may, after a time, 
get too deep to see over. Isolation has a tendency to cause 
Unhealthy mental and spiritual conditions; to make one's 
view of life narrow to the four walls of home. 

Good books and periodicals largely overcome this tendency, 
but to maintain truly human feeling it is necessary to rub 
elbows with others of our species. 

Pregnancy is a natural and beautiful condition. Of itself 
it is no reason for retiring from active participation in social 
life. Sensible folk do not regard it as a cause for shrinking 
and shyness. 

Love your babe and its father. But this is superfluous ad- 
vice to those who have "desired, designed and loved" a babe 
into being. The babe is love's precious fruitage. As Mrs. 
Lowell says: 

"In her was mirrored forth 

The love we could not say, 
As on the little dew-drops round 
Shines back the heart of day." 

Pre-Notol Influences* 

Among the social faculties none is stronger than the at- 
traction between the sexes. To be sure that a child will 
consider this attraction from a clean, true standpoint, all 
thoughts and imaginings must be pure. And husband and 
wife, as they value uprightness of character in their future 
child, must avoid sexual excitement; the father because he 
loves both mother and baby; the mother because a precious 
charge is in her keeping. 

Following are quotations from different authors on the sub- 
ject: 

"Every time a husband excites in his wife the sexual pas- 



CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 207 

sion, he robs his child of some portion of its vitality and her 
of some of the strength she needs." — Dr. Nicholls. 

"Caresses must be controlled ; they must not be permitted to 
arouse strong personal feelings; their (the parents') thoughts 
should rather be upon their child than upon each other. Above 
all, the generative act should be avoided. To this end husband 
and wife should occupy separate rooms, or at least separate 
beds."— Dr. S. B. Elliott. 

"Copulation after conception is more unnatural, moie bru- 
talizing, both to parents and child, than all other habits and 
causes combined." — Dr. M. R. Melendy. 

All bursts of passion, anger, rebellion, jealousy and the like 
must be controlled, as being doubly bad in effect. The babe 
in the womb is affected, and the mother by the rebound. "A 
thought for good or evil reaches its destination upon wings, 
and, having performed its mission to others, returns to us by 
the same swift course"— Coming Age. 

"To strive to forget enemies, or to throw out to them only 
friendly thought, is as much an act of self-protection as to 
ward off a physical blow. The persistent thought of friendli- 
ness turns aside ill will and renders it harmless. The injunc- 
tion of Christ to do good to your enemies is founded on 
natural law. It is that the thought or element of good will 
carries the greater power, and will always turn aside and 
prevent injury from the thought of ill will. 

"Demand forgetfulness when it is only possible for you 
to think of a person or thing with the pain that comes of 
grief, anger or any disturbing cause. Demand is a state of 
mind which sets in motion forces to bring you the result de- 
sired. Demand is the scientific basis of prayer." — Prentice 
Mulford. 

Cheerfulness., happiness, must be the predominating ele- 



208 CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 

ment. To be happy and make others happy is the highest 
duty and privilege of life. Our loved Louis Stevenson wrote: 

"If I have faltered more or less 
In my great task of happiness; 
If I have moved among my race, 
And shown no glorious morning face ; 
If beams from happy human eyes 
Have moved me not ; if morning skies, 
Books, and my food, and summer rain 
Knocked on my sullen heart in vain, 
Lord, thy most pointed pleasure take 
And stab my spirit broad awake." 

The "task of happiness" belongs to all human beings, but 
to the mother prospective in especial. And this, like all good 
things, must find its germ within and grow and grow until 
outside influences can not depress or extinguish. 

A natural trend toward intellectual pursuit may be be- 
queathed by general reading and study of the best literature 
within the grasp of the mother's mentality. Any particular 
phase of work having been decided upon for the child will, by 
maternal cultivation, be impressed upon her babe. 

Equilibrium should be sought in all usefulness and indus- 
try. A character one-sided, too highly cultivated in some 
faculties and not at all in others, is one not easy to pilot through 
the world of activity. "The individual grown to fullest estate 
is the one most alive to associations which bring other lives 
into his own." 

Don't try to make your unborn child so much of a genius in 
one thing that he will be withdrawn from his fellow-creatures. 



CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 209 
The Physical Signs of Pregnancy* 

The physical signs of pregnancy in normal health are: 
First, the cessation of the menses. 

Enlargement of the breasts begins in about six or eight 
weeks after conception. There is usually a noticeable sensa- 
tion of tingling and throbbing, and the enlargement is dis- 
tinguishable from a fatty increase by being hard and knotty; 
the lobules of the glands may be felt beneath the skin, ar- 
ranged regularly around the nipple. 

The areolar tissue surrounding the nipple gradually darkens 
after conception. In the unimpregnated state this tissue is 
pinkish ; as pregnancy progresses the shade grows darker and 
the circle increases in size. However, where one pregnancy 
quickly follows another the dark color becomes permanent 
and is not an indication. Pathological symptoms are always 
more or less present in these cases, and women quickly dis- 
cover their condition by illnesses which come therewith. 

Quickening, or the first conspicuous movements of the babe, 
is noticeable from the fourth month to the fifth. The uterus 
then rises out of the pelvis, and the movements of the babe 
pressing against the sensitive abdominal contents are sensible 
to the mother. 

Enlargement of the abdomen begins about the second month, 
when the uterus elevates the intestines. At the fourth month 
it rises out of the pelvis in the form of a hard round tumor, and 
then gradually enlarges the whole abdomen. It reaches the 
navel at the sixth month and the region of the diaphragm 
at the ninth. 

The Disorders of Pregnancy* 

The disorders of pregnancy are numerous in proportion to 
the state of health and manner of living. Morning sickness 
is often prolonged and aggravating ; it is most common in the 



210 CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 

nervous temperament, or in those whose life has been such 
as to create nervousness. This can be overcome along with 
many other unpleasant symptoms by rational living. Eat of 
some fruit that best agrees with palate or stomach, drink hot 
water, or eat nothing until a real hunger demands. Where 
nausea occurs after eating, a tart apple or orange is good. 
Mrs. Duffy recommends the following : 

"Let women suffering from morning sickness try acid fruit 
— apples, oranges, or even lemons, if their sourness is not un- 
pleasant. If a single orange or apple after each meal does not 
suffice let them try two; let them eat ten if that number is 
necessary to conquer the distress. The principle is a correct 
one and the relief certain. Let fruit be eaten at all hours 
of the day — before meals and after, on going to bed at night 
and upon getting up in the morning. If berries are in season 
let them be eaten in the natural state — that is, without sugar. 
If the sickness still continues omit a meal now and then, and 
substitute fruit in its stead. By persistence in this course, not 
only will nausea be conquered, but an easy confinement guar- 
anteed/ ' 

Nervousness, sleeplessness, hysteria are due to want of fresh 
air and outdoor exercise, or to allowing the mind to dwell 
upon abnormal symptoms, to listen, as it were, for every pos- 
sible unpleasant condition. Keep mind and body pleasantly 
occupied, and these conditions can not exist. 

Constipation, diarrhea, or any of the disorders of the in- 
testinal region, will not be of any dangerous duration when the 
internal bath is used. 

Heartburn, acidity of the stomach, colic, waterbrash occur 
when improper diet is used or too much is eaten. Drinking 



CONCEPTION AND PRE-NATAL CULTURE. 211 

hot water before meals is good when the cause is not repeated. 
Fasting is also a good remedy. 

Dizziness, headache, neuralgia are no more liable to occur 
in pregnancy than at any other time in normal health. The 
fruit diet is a preventive of that thickness of the blood which 
causes dizziness. Headache due to biliousness may be overcome 
by cleansing the digestive tract and eating lightly for some 
days after. 

Neuralgia is most quickly relieved by bringing the blood 
to the surface. An internal bath, with a vapor or hot air 
bath, will almost surely bring relief from neuralgia. 

The duration of pregnancy is about forty weeks. When 
the date of conception is known the reckoning is from that 
time; when not, the calculation may be from the time of the 
last monthly period. If this can not be remembered, four 
months and a half from the time of quickening must be made 
use of. 



PART II. 




CHAPTER V. 

Child -Birth. 

'HE earliest symptom that the time of parturition 
is near is the descent of the child into the pelvis, 
when it has before been near the diaphragm. A pos- 
itive feeling of relief is experienced, because of the 
increased breathing capacity. This state may exist for 
several days previous to labor — though often it is of only 
a few hours' duration. A slight discharge of mucus tinged 
with blood occurs, which indicates that the uterus is getting 
ready for the discharge of its contents ; this is called "the show" 
by doctors and midwives; os uteri is becoming unsealed. 

When these indications occur the lady should lose no time 
in having the chamber in which she expects to be confined ar v 
ranged. The most light and airy room in the house should, 
when possible, be made the lying-in room. Good ventilation 
and light are imperative in sickness. The bed should be strong 
and firm to preclude the possibility of being jarred by a 
tumbling down. The mattress may be of any of the good 
makes and protected by a folded comfort, over which is spread 
two yards of rubber cloth. Over the rubber or oilcloth may 
be spread whatever else is desired to make the bed comfortable. 
The doctor will expect to be seated so that the right hand 
may be used to assist the patient when necessary. 

212 



CHILD-BIRTH. 213 

The nurse and physician should be informed at the time 
they are engaged as to when their services will be required, 
that their other engagements may not cover it. 

The doctor, nurse and a lady friend are all that will be 
needed at the time of parturition. If the labor is not tedious 
even their services will not be required for long. 

The child's clothing and that of the mother should be ready 
for the moment they are needed. 

The babe's dresses may be such as the mother's taste may 
provide, with the precaution that the skirts be not long. The 
average babe at birth is about eighteen inches in length. Skirts 
for the new-born should not be made longer than twenty to 
twenty- four inches from neck to hem. The weight of long 
skirts is a hindrance to growth. With skirts of the length 
mentioned no shortening process is needed; the babe grows 
through them. If the yokes and waists are not too snug 
the only change required in the first dresses is an extension on 
the sleeves. 

As soon as labor is known to have commenced the nurse 
and physician should be notified. At the same time prepare 
an abundance of hot water. As often as every ten or fifteen 
minutes drink hot water, or weak hot tea. Get the sitz-bath 
ready as the pains come on. If the bowels have not been 
moved recently cleanse the colon as thoroughly as possible. 
Then sit down in the bath; increase the temperature of the 
water as it cools. Remain in it as long as possible without 
fatigue. 

A Soothing: Bath* 

This bath is wonderfully soothing. Parturient women, 
even in labor of long duration, have expressed themselves 
as delighted at the soothing effect of the sitz-bath. Usually 



214 CHILD-BIRTH. 

there is the desire to lie down and rest after sitting in the 
hot water. The body is made dry and the patient goes to 
sleep. The bath may be repeated once, sometimes two or three 
times, with the same good results. With the sitz-bath and 
drinking warm infusions the system is relaxed and labor is 
comparatively easy. 

One lady gives her experience as follows : "I was awakened 
from a sound sleep by a premonitory labor pain. Arousing 
my husband, I had him call the nurse, who was in the house 
in anticipation of the event. A sitz-bath was made ready as 
soon as possible. After sitting therein for some time I became 
aware that I must leave for the bed. I had scarcely been 
assisted to dry my body and get to the bed, when a lusty boy 
baby was ushered into the world. All of conscious labor was 
over in an hour and a half with very little pain to me. I 
must add, however, that I had through the whole nine months 
lived as thoroughly a hygienic life as I possibly could." 

Taking the sitz-bath and partaking of warm drinks requires 
more effort on the part of a woman in labor than lying in 
bed being anesthetized by chloroform or ether, but she will 
have a quicker recovery and without any of the drawbacks 
with which narcotics leave one. The hot water relaxes the 
muscles; the anesthetic merely deadens the sensibilities. In 
one case labor is really made easier; in the other it is not. 

The Three Stages of Labor* 

Labor has been divided into three stages. In the first the 
uterus alone contracts, and the mouth dilates. In the second 
stage the abdominal muscles assist the uterus in expelling the 
child. In the third stage the placenta and membranes are 
expelled. 



CHILD-BIRTH. 215 

Dr. Nicholls says : 

"Child-birth is a natural process, and however painful or 
complicated or dangerous it may be made by disease, still 
nature must do her work. Our efforts to assist nature, to 
expedite her operations, or to take her own work out of her 
hands, generally end in mischief. The only cases in which 
we are justified in interfering is where her powers are ex- 
hausted, or some malformation or malpresentation renders all 
her efforts unavailing. These are rare accidents and always 
the result of disease; how rare even amid the vices of civili- 
zation is shown by the following statistics : 

"Of twelve thousand six hundred and five (12,605) deliver- 
ies at the Maternity Hospital in Paris, only one hundred and 
seventy-eight (178) required assistance, and instruments were 
used only in thirty-seven (37) cases. Yet we have fashionable 
doctors who give ergot and use the forceps in a large pro- 
portion of the cases to which they are called. The conse- 
quences are prostration, hemorrhage, prolapsus and long-con- 
tinued uterine and general disease." 

A remark very common among semi-invalid women is : "I 
have never been real strong-since my first baby was born. ,, 

Continuing, Dr. Nicholls says : "One who is to be a bride and 
who hopes to be a mother should observe all the conditions . 
of health; and if suffering from any disease, or in the prac- 
tice of any diseasing habit, she must lose no time in seeking 
reformation and cure. Let her be calm,, happy, temperate. 
Let her guard against amative excess ; especially in the honey- 
moon does love run into absorption arid exhaustion. Perma- 
nent happiness is sacrificed to a few days of delirious and not 
very satisfactory enjoyment. The tone of the uterine sys- 
tem is relaxed by this excess; the germ is weakened; the 
spermatic fluid is exhausted of its vital qualities, and the result 



216 CHILD-BIRTH. 

is a sickly, nervous pregnancy, a protracted and painful par- 
turition and a sickly, short-lived infant. 

Child-Birth Not Necessarily Painful. 

"No natural process is painful. We might as well suppose 
that it would be painful to swallow with a healthy pharynx, 
or to digest with a healthy stomach, as to expel the child with 
a healthy uterus. All the pain and difficulty and danger of 
child-birth is the result of disease." 

Everything needed for the care of mother and babe should 
be at hand when delivery is over. The clean garments for 
both, plenty of soft cloths, sweet oil, soap, towels, arnica, 
safety pins, etc. There should also be a large square of soft 
flannel to wrap the child in as soon as born. 

Avoid having as nurse or friend at this time one who is 
not cheerful and pleasant. The morbid, unhappy person de- 
presses even those who -have not such important business at 
hand. Some women enjoy pleasant conversation during 
labor, others prefer quiet. The wishes of the one so vitally 
concerned should be observed. 

The New-Born Babe. 

When the babe is born it must be laid at once where the 
uterine discharges will not endanger its life. After wiping 
the mucus from the mouth and face and seeing that respira- 
tion is established, the child is folded into the soft warm 
flannel prepared for the purpose and laid to one side until 
the pulsation in the cord has ceased, which is in from ten to 
thirty minutes. Then the umbilical cord is tied and severed, 
or the navel dressed without tying, according to the opinion 
of the attending physician. Opinions vary as to tying the 



CHILD-BIRTH. 217 

cord; but as to severing before pulsation has ceased, the best 
authorities are agreed that it should not be done. 

In the quick, natural labor the appetite does not demand any 
food. Where it is prolonged there is sometimes a feeling of 
faintness that craves something to satisfy it. Heavy food 
should not be given. A bowl of gruel, a glass of hot milk 
and water, a light soup or piece of toast will be ample. Na- 
ture is at that time using her forces otherwise, and cannot give 
much to digestion. 

If there is any tendency to flooding, the mother should lie 
flat upon the back, with the head lowered. As soon as pulsa- 
tion has ceased in the umbilical cord, with a sharp pair of 
blunt-pointed scissors the doctor severs it, and either dresses 
the navel himself or passes the child to the nurse to be attended. 

The most advanced practitioners do not allow the child to 
be washed with soap and water at first. Instead, sweet oil, 
lard, vaseline or unsalted butter is used, and the secretions 
wiped away with soft cloths. There should not be much at- 
tempt at dressing at first ; the navel dressing, a little shirt and 
diaper and a night dress will suffice. 

Better yet is to follow the example reported as follows: 
"After birth the child got no bath, no food, no dressing pro- 
cess, but was simply swathed in cotton batting and laid for 
six hours in a padded box-bed, surrounded by bottles of hot 
water, and covered with plenty of soft blankets to sleep and 
get used to his new environment. On the second day we began 
rubbing him daily from head to foot with vaseline. His first 
bath, with a flannel cloth dipped in warm milk diluted with 
soft water and without soap, came when he was a week old, 
and was followed by a thorough vaseline rub. 

"Feeding began with a meal every hour of the twenty-four 
for the first week. Then night feeding was reduced to two 



218 CHILD-BIRTH. 

meals, and he was fed every two hours — from four or five 
o'clock in the morning till nine at night — until two months 
old."— Dr. Holbrook, in "Homo-Culture." 

The Afterbirth* 

In natural labor, from a few minutes to an hour elapses be- 
fore the afterbirth and membranes are expelled. Neither the 
doctor nor midwife should pull at the cord. If the uterus is 
not ready to expel the placenta, a pull may displace the organ 
and some permanent injury be done the woman. A forcible 
pulling on the cord has been known to turn the uterus wrong 
side out. 

After the afterbirth is expelled the conscientious physician 
will examine to see if it has been entirely passed away. If not, 
more clots may be expected. 

If it takes longer than an hour for the afterbirth to be ex- 
pelled, the patient should not be allowed to worry. Perhaps 
nature is resting before making another expulsive effort. The 
eminent authority, Playfair, says : "There is no place where 
there is so much malpractice as at the bed of labor, and in the 
detachment of the afterbirth." Both husband and wife should 
hesitate a long time before consenting to extraneous removal 
of the afterbirth. It does not adhere to the womb. For absorp- 
tion of nourishment and aeration of the fetal blood, it is at- 
tached to the mucous lining of the uterus ; but in just the way 
that the babe is born when the time is ripe, so the placenta peels 
away from the uterus as an orange is peeled away from the 
rind. 

Those practitioners who sever the cord too soon are the 
ones who have had cases of retained placenta. The premature 
operation interferes with the natural expulsion of the after- 
birth. Obey the laws of nature and all is well. 



CHILD-BIRTH. 219 

Dr. Curtis, in "Midwifery," says: "Never fear to wait for 
'the efforts of nature, aided only by innocent means and pro- 
cesses, to disengage the placenta. Many instances have oc- 
curred in which it has remained not only for hours, but for 
days, and then came away without danger or inconvenience 
to the patient." 

There are so many ways by which a woman may save her- 
self a painful, tedious delivery through care beforehand; the 
wonder is that any will be recklessly careless as to the rules of 
health when it may mean their own or their child's life. 

When the placenta has been expelled the patient may, if not 
too exhausted, be made tidy and comfortable and left to rest. 
The afterbirth should be burned or buried. 

The vagina should be irrigated with warm water in which 
there is a little carbolic acid; and when the parts have been 
cleaned and dried, a napkin wet in a lotion of arnica (twenty 
drops of arnica tincture to a glass of water) should be placed 
against the vulva. 

When the after-pains are severe a napkin wet with the arnica 
lotion as warm as may be borne may be applied to the abdomen, 
with a warm, dry flannel to cover it and prevent the bedding 
and bed-gown from becoming damp. These after-pains are 
but the contractions of an empty uterus, which must return to 
the normal, unimpregnated size. 

For several days after delivery there is a discharge called 
the lochia. The more natural the delivery, the lighter the dis- 
charge. 

The napkins against the vulva should be changed every three 
or four hours during the first two days of convalescence. If 
the soreness continues the arnica lotion should be used each 
time. 

The vagina should be cleaned morning and evening of every 



220 CHILD-BIRTH. 

day of confinement in bed. Every morning the lady should 
receive a bath and clean garments, and the sheets of her bed be 
changed. If they are not soiled by the discharges, a thorough 
sunning and airing will disinfect them sufficiently for another 
day's wearing. As soon as strength has amply returned, she 
should be helped into a bath at the bedside, having care that 
the room is sufficiently heated to prevent chill. The full bath 
soothes and cleanses better than any that can be given lying 
abed, and it aids recovery more. The third or fourth day is 
the average time for waiting for this bath. 

The bowels and bladder are often in a state of semi-paraly- 
sis after labor. The attending physician will notice those func- 
tions. If there is no action within thirty-six or forty-eight 
hours following labor attention must be given them. A full 
internal bath will ordinarily cure even obstinate cases of re- 
tention. Water, filling the large intestine, is more or less ab- 
sorbed and passed off through the kidneys, washing that excre- 
tory channel as well as that of the colon. 

The Convalescent Mother. 

The diet for a convalescent woman may be almost anything 
for which she has a liking, with the care not-to overeat. 

The babe should be placed to the maternal bosom every 
hour of its waking moments for the first week. The estimated 
capacity of the stomach of a new-born child is a thimbleful ; so 
it can not make use of very much food until growth begins. 
Dr. Louis Starr says : "As the secretion of milk is never fully 
established until the third day after labor, it stands to reason 
that no food other than the colostrum (the first secretion of 
the mammary glands) is required before that time. Hence 
the practice of filling the infant's stomach with gruel, sugar and 
water and other sweetened mixtures is more than useless, for 



CHILD-BIRTH. 221 

it diminishes the activity of sucking, and the consequent stim- 
ulation of milk production. 

Relative to the nervous sympathy between the uterus and 
mammary glands Dr. Keith says this : "I can not advise too 
strongly of the importance of having the child nurse at once. 
If the afterbirth has not come, nursing favors its coming. 
If there is flooding nursing apparently checks it. But the most 
important point is that the early milk is a physic and cleanses 
the child's bowels in a natural manner." 

The bowels and bladder of the infant should act during the 
first twenty-four hours of separate life. The tarry material 
that collects in the intestinal canal during pre-natal life is called 
the meconium. The napkin of the child should be protected 
against this first passage, .as it is not easily washed. An old 
piece of linen may be placed in the napkin, and, after the 
meconium has been passed, be burned. 

The Babe's Food* 

It is best not to allow any food to be given the child but its 
mother's milk, but if her health has suffered, and bodily func- 
tions are poorly performed, lactation may not be readily estab- 
lished. If, after the third day, the breasts do not give a plenti- 
ful supply of milk, the feeding may be supplemented with 
cow's milk. Be sure the cow is sound; diseased cattle often 
convey the malady through the milk. The milk should be 
diluted with double its quantity of water and sweetened slightly 
with sugar of milk. The artificial feeding may be done with 
a spoon. It should be discontinued whenever the mother's milk 
begins to flow. 

Many mothers give up the effort of nursing their babes too 
soon. Perseverance is necessary when the child does not readily 
take the nipple. A little milk squeezed from the nipple into his 



222 CHILD-BIRTH. 

mouth will often cause him to seek its source. Dr. Starr says : 
"When giving the breast the infant must be held partly on its 
side, on the right or left arm, according to the gland about to 
be drawn, while the mother must bend her body forward so 
that the nipple may fall easily into the child's mouth, and 
steady the breast with the first and second finger of the disen- 
gaged hand placed above and below the nipple. In case the 
milk runs too freely, a condition very apt to excite vomiting, 
the flow is easily regulated by gentle pressure with the support- 
ing fingers. Each of the breasts should be drawn alternately, 
the contents of one being usually sufficient for a meal ; and a 
healthy child may be allowed to nurse until satisfied, when he 
will stop of his own accord." 

Regularity in the feeding of infants is more important than 
when they are older. The functions of the delicate little body 
are easily disturbed. It is a very serious mistake to feed a babe 
every time it cries. When the meals have been regulated, 
and the diaper changed whenever necessary, if the babe cries 
it is due to some other cause, which should be discovered. 

It is not desirable that a babe be fat, all former notions to 
the contrary notwithstanding. Mortality is always greatest 
among fat babies. If a child is plump, rosy and frolicsome 
he is well. Too much fat burdens the movements of babe or 
adult, and observation proves that all who are overstocked 
with fatty tissue have not the power to throw off disease. 



PART II. 




CHAPTER VI. 

Hygiene of Infancy* 

*HE period of life known as infancy comprises 
about the first three years of separate existence, or 
until all of the milk-teeth have been cut. 

The earliest infantile needs pertain, for the most 
part, to his physical well-being, although good disci- 
pline and good environment are of no small importance even 
while very young. Regularity in the care of a babe makes an 
early impression. The feeding, bath, and exercise, which should 
occur at stated hours, will be anticipated and called for, and 
this arrangement enables a mother to give a little time to her- 
self and household, and not be in such constant attendance 
upon His Majesty the Baby. 

The Baby's BotL 

The daily bath should occur either in the morning or 
evening. Most mothers prefer the mornings ; but regularity is 
the most important item. A good time is between morning 
feedings. 

Supposing the child has awakened at five o'clock a. m. de- 
manding feed, and has been satisfied, he will naturally sleep 
again for two hours, during which time his mother will have 
been attending to morning duties of the house. When the 
second awakening occurs the bath and fresh garments will 
be ready. 

223 



224 HYGIENE OF INFANCY. 

Water for the bath should be pure and soft to prevent 
chafing the delicate skin. It is very convenient to have a low 
stand or stool upon which to rest the bath-pan, to enable the 
bather, while still sitting, to be on a level with her work. Some 
good soap made without potash or other irritating ingredients 
should be at hand, along with a soft flannel for a wash-cloth, 
and some soft towels. 

The water should be about ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit 
in winter, and about ten degrees lower in summer. The bath- 
ing should take place in the part of the room least draughty, 
the room having been heated to a proper temperature before- 
hand. A crib-blanket may be used to wrap about the child 
while drying the body, a portion at a time being uncovered. 
Everything needed for dressing the youngster should be at 
hand ; his change of clothing, powder, safety-pins and all. 

In drying the baby, the flesh should be patted rather than 
rubbed. The natural folds of flesh where water may lodge 
require especial attention, or in a very short time excoriations 
will be seen. After drying, the whole body should be gently 
rubbed with the palm of the hand for about five minutes. 
This encourages a good reaction by quickening capillary circu- 
lation. The tonic effects of the bath are in the reaction. 
Weakly children thrive especially under this gentle manipula- 
tion. Do not dally with the bath. 

Powdered rice is a very good form of powder to use over 
the body should the drying process not be perfect; but this is 
not essential if drying is well done. 

Whenever the diaper needs changing, the thighs and groins 
should be washed, and dusted with the powder. Any neglect 
in this may cause chafing, which will make the babe fretful 
and unhappy. 



HYGIENE OF INFANCY. 225 

What Baby's Crying Means. 

Crying is the chief means by which the infant can make 
known any suffering, discomfort or displeasure. In the varia- 
tions of the cry the mother may learn to diagnose the trouble- 
some conditions. 

"Incessant, unappeasable crying is usually due to earache or 
to hunger; it frequently, too, is caused by the pricking of a 
badly adjusted pin. 

"If crying occur during an attack of coughing, it is an indi- 
cation of some painful affection of the chest; if just before or 
after an evacuation of the bowels, of intestinal pain. 

"When crying has a nasal tone it should suggest swelling of 
the lining membrane of the nose, or other obstructing condi- 
tion. Thickening and indistinctness occur with throat affec- 
tions. • „ 

"A loud, brazen cry is a precursor of spasmodic croup, and 
a faint, whispering cry of true or membranous croup. Hoarse- 
ness points to disease of the lining membrane of the larynx 
either catarrhal or syphilitic in nature. 

"A manifest unwillingness to cry can be seen in pneumonia 
and pleurisy, when the disease is severe enough to interfere 
materially with breathing. 

"Tear-secretion having been established, it is a bad omen 
if the secretion be arrested during the progress of an illness; 
but it is an equally good one if there be no suppression, or if 
there be a re-establishment after suppression." — Hygiene of 
the Nursery. 

The Feeding: of Infants* 

The feeding of babes is the most important need, if any 
one physical requirement can be singled out. All other organs 
of the body depend upon the digestive apparatus and the lungs. 



226 HYGIENE OF INFANCY. 

To keep these systems in health means bodily health ; to abuse 
them brings punishment to all the rest of the body. A babe's 
life and health is at the mercy of his care-takers ; hence the im- 
portance of mothers and nurses informing themselves. Except 
in hereditary cases sickly and diseased children are a reproach 
to their parents. The means for learning much of the proper 
care of children are to be found on every hand, so that entire 
ignorance is inexcusable. But there are a great many who 
do not know that they are ignorant; who believe truly, when 
their babes are taken sick and die, that a dispensation of Provi- 
dence has overtaken them. Perhaps it is just as well for the 
world. The fool has been the problem of the ages, and the 
less the species is reproduced and raised to maturity, the better. 

Few women have ever any previous preparation for mother- 
hood. As Mrs. Stetson says, "They are fitted to attract the 
other sex for economic uses, or, at most, for mutual gratifica- 
tion, but not for motherhood. They are reared in unbroken 
ignorance of their supposed principal duties, knowing nothing 
of these duties till they enter upon them. 

"This is as though all men were to be soldiers, with the fate 
of nations in their hands, and no man told or taught a word of 
war or military service until he entered the battle-field. 

"The education of young women has no department of ma- 
ternity. It is considered indelicate to give this consecrated 
functionary any previous knowledge of her sacred duties. This 
most important and wonderful of human functions is left from 
age to age in the hands of absolutely untaught women. It is 
tacitly supposed to be fulfilled by the mysterious working of 
what we call 'the divine instinct of maternity.' Maternal in- 
stinct is a very respectable and useful instinct, common to most 
animals. It is 'divine' and 'holy' only as all the laws of nature 
are divine and holy." 



HYGIENE OF INFANCY. 227 

All women who expect to be wives and mothers, in justice 
to themselves, must study what those relations mean and how 
best to acquit themselves when placed in those positions. To 
fully equip herself as a well-rounded human being will make 
her not only more valuable as a mother of the race, but as 
an individual character. 

To return to infant feeding. When possible the mother's 
milk is the only food to be given. He should be given the 
breast every hour of the twenty- four for the first week; from 
that up to the sixth week, twice during the night and every two 
hours during the day. If put to bed at seven p. m. he will 
need to nurse about nine and eleven, leaving his mother from 
then till five a. m. undisturbed. 

The natural feebleness of infantile functions makes regular- 
ity in feeding imperative. One hard and fast rule can not be 
made to apply in all cases. Some babes will need to be fed 
oftener than others ; some less. The hours here given are ap- 
proximately correct. 

After the sixth week the interval between feedings may be 
increased until, by the fourth month, it reaches three hours; 
this interval is usually continued until weaning, which will 
occur at from nine to twelve months. 

When the mother's milk is not sufficiently plentiful, artificial 
feeding may be used in connection with nursing, alternating 
with the breast. There is a considerable difference between 
cow's milk and human milk, and but few infants thrive when 
given pure cow's milk. There is, in ordinary cow's milk, 
about one-half the amount of sugar that is in breast milk ; and 
the curd to be driven from human milk is only about one-fifth 
as much as can be obtained from the same quantity of cow's 
milk. To prevent too much curd in the stomach of the baby 
the milk is diluted with double its quantity of water; this re- 



228 HYGIENE OF INFANCY. 

duces the amount of sugar and fat which is already too low. 
The feeding of diluted cow's milk causes the child to take a 
larger quantity to get nourishment enough, and the over- 
crowding often causes distension and feebleness, colic and 
other difficulties. To overcome the lack of sugar and fat the 
milk may be diluted as before, using one part milk and two 
parts water; add sweet cream equal to half the quantity of 
milk, and one teaspoonful of sugar of milk to four ounces of 
cream. 

It is better to feed with a spoon. There is not then the 
anxiety of keeping nursing-bottles, nipples and tubes steril- 
ized. 

Weaning* 

The time for weaning a babe must depend to a certain ex- 
tent upon the health of the mother and the development of the 
babe. If the mother is strong and the babe hardy, nursing 
may be prolonged up to twelve months ; rarely longer. To in- 
sure good health for herself and child, a mother should be 
reasonably free from heavy labor, avoiding both mental and 
physical fatigue. It is not necessary to give especial attention 
to her own diet beyond a wholesome supply of nourishing 
foods. If there is a scant secretion of milk she should drink 
freely of milk, or chocolate, or bouillon. Vice versa, if the flow 
is too copious she must drink sparingly of all liquids. 

The easier way to wean a child is to begin about a month 
before he is expected to give up the breast by substituting a 
prepared food for one of the three-hour meals. The next day 
give the preparation alternately with the breast — and so on 
until the breast can be withheld entirely. When any reason 
exists for abrupt weaning it is done at once completely. . This 
is harder for both child and mother, however. 



HYGIENE OF INFANCY. 229 

It is a great mistake to take a child to the table and allow 
him to eat of whatever is placed thereupon, after weaning. 
His digestive powers must grow gradually to take heavy 
foods. While such may be given, and the child is not sickened 
thereby, it does not argue that it is digested and assimilated. 
If the digestive apparatus does not rebel at once, sooner or later 
overtaxing will tell. It should easily be seen by any one 
willing to think that food for an adult is not suitable for the 
stomach of an infant. Almost any place through the country 
districts one can see mothers carrying tiny babes to the table 
and giving them mashed potatoes, gravy, bread and butter, and 
even coffee and tea. They then are surprised and worried 
because bowel complaint ensues, especially during the teething 
period. The teething period should cause no worry. It will 
not, if methodical and judicious feeding has been the rule. 

After weaning, or from the tenth to the fourteenth month, 
the child should have five meals daily; at seven a. m., half 
past ten a. m., two p. m., six p. m. and ten p. m. The first 
meal may be the milk mixture given before ; the next a cupful 
of full cow's milk warmed; the third a soft boiled egg with 
stale bread-crumbs; the fourth the milk mixture; the last a 
cupful of warm cow's milk. The mid-day meal may be varied 
occasionally with broth of chicken, beef or mutton. 

From the fourteenth to the eighteenth month the diet may 
be more substantial. For the first meal a cupful of bread and 
milk may be given ; for the next a cracker, or bread and butter, 
with a cupful of milk ; for the third a slice of bread, a cupful 
of broth, and some rice and milk pudding; the fourth bread 
and milk ; the last a cupful of milk. This bill of fare may be 
varied by giving a soft boiled egg or a baked potato in place 
of something else. 

If the child wishes to sleep over the hour for the last meal.. 



230 HYGIENE OF INFANCY. 

never awaken him to eat. Instead, give him a cup of milk 
when he first awakens in the morning; he should not have to 
go hungry until the regular breakfast hour. 

The young mother in her inexperience is often sorely 
oppressed by giving heed to the many conflicting bits of advice 
that come to her as to raising her baby. The best way in which 
to fortify herself will be to obtain some reliable book and con- 
scientiously carry out its injunctions. She then has one con- 
sistent guide. If her baby thrives she may know she is in the 
right. 

The nursing mother as well as the pregnant woman should 
not have to experience sexual excitement. It robs either her 
or the babe, or both, of vitality, as well as bequeathing to 
the child, through the mother's milk, an abnormal sexual appe- 
tite. When young men and young women are properly pre- 
pared for marriage and parenthood they will know that that 
estate is higher than one of mere indulgence of the sex pas- 
sion. Sex passion is abnormal when it cannot be controlled 
for the welfare of all to be considered. 

How to Dress the Baby* 

The dress of a babe should always be plentifully warm. To 
keep a child warm from its birth doubles its chances of life. 
Too much dependence is usually placed on the heating of 
houses, most of which are superheated. A babe should be 
dressed for the most part in flannel, during winter. Authori- 
ties disagree as to whether or not flannel should be worn next 
the skin. It absorbs and retains moisture from the body. 

The "Gertrude" baby garments, devised by Dr. Grosvenor 
of Chicago for his own baby daughter, are very simple and 
sensible. The first garment is in one piece from neck to hem; 
it slopes at the waist-line and flares at the skirt to give a proper 



HYGIENE OF INFANCY. 231 

width. The seams in sleeves and princess are on the outside. 
Over this is a petticoat of all wool, without sleeves. It is cut 
the same way, only an inch wider and two inches longer. Any 
outside garment desirable may be worn. The beauty of this 
system is the saving in time and strength for mother and baby. 
Before getting the bath ready, one garment is slipped inside 
the other and made ready, so when baby is dried, and the 
diaper, socks and band are adjusted, he can be slipped into 
his regalia in no time. With one motion they can be drawn 
over the head, or up over the feet, and with face downward 
each garment is fastened with one or two buttons. 

The band which used to be supposed to strengthen the ab- 
dominal wall, and not taken off for months, is gone. When 
the navel no longer needs dressing, which time varies from 
five to fifteen days, the close-fitting band should be removed. 
In its place now comes a knitted wool band that reaches from 
under the arms to the hips. This preserves a degree of warmth 
for the stomach, bowels, liver and lungs, necessary for health. 

"Babyhood" gives the following directions for a crocheted 
baby-band : "Single zephyr in ridge stitch, that is, half stitch, 
in which going back and forth only the back half of the 
stitches in the lower row are picked up. Begin on a chain of 
fifty and crochet forty-eight ridges, or ninety-six rows. Join 
by a row of tight stitches, or by sewing. Finish off at bottom 
by a row of plain stitches topped by a picot-edging (five chains 
and a tight stitch back into the first)." 

This band should be worn throughout the period of denti- 
tion ; longer if there is delicacy of digestion. Little wool socks, 
and shoes as soon as creeping begins, should be worn the year 
around. 

The points to be observed in clothing a baby are warmth, 
looseness and a uniform covering of the whole body. 



232 HYGIENE OF INFANCY. 

One writer gives a description of what an infant's clothing 
formerly was. She says : "The old style of dressing a new- 
born baby consisted first — no matter how cold the weather — 
of a tiny sleeveless shirt made of the finest linen. Then came 
a band of muslin, double, which was wound around and around 
the child's body several times and pinned tight. Then came a 
straight piece of flannel gathered into a band of two thick-' 
nesses of muslin fully three-quarters of a yard long which was 
wound around the baby tight, 'to support its little back, you 
know.' It was then pinned every inch with a straight pin. 
The flannel was folded each side over baby's legs and the ends 
brought up and pinned to the band in front. You will won- 
der if it could kick. Over this horror was put a flannel skirt — 
this also with a long band. Over that went a cambric skirt 
tucked and ruffled and long enough to cover the flannel one. 
Last of all came the dress of the finest, thinnest lawn or cam- 
bric, more or less tucked and ruffled. 

"Think of it! If every band went around but once there 
were eight or ten thick, stiff layers of muslin drawn tightly 
and pinned over the lower part of the chest, liver, stomach 
and all the vital organs, and over the upper chest, neck and 
arm but one layer of the sheerest fabric." 

The end-of-the-century baby may well be thankful for hav- 
ing been called into existence no earlier. 

The diaper, or napkin, should be abandoned as soon as the 
child is able to make known the demands of nature. This time 
varies according to the skill in training. 

The style of night dress varies with the taste of the mother. 
It is made preferably of wool for winter and cotton or linen 
for summer. Some mothers use a plain little night robe; a 
very serviceable garment for a young baby is a long gown 
with a draw-string at the bottom, to prevent the little feet 



HYGIENE OF INFANCY. 233 

from kicking free from cover. When the babe is older, draw- 
ers made with waist, sleeves and stockings are to be recom- 
mended, as furnishing a uniform covering for the body, and 
for freedom of movement. 

No clothing for either night or day should restrict free 
movement. The growing baby must be able to make all 
voluntary and involuntary movements with perfect freedom. 
If the shoes are tight the circulation of blood is imperfect; 
anything tight about the chest or waist prevents perfect respira- 
tion and digestion. Development is retarded whenever these 
precautions are disregarded. Clothing worn during the day 
should be changed upon getting ready for bed. The band and 
napkin must be replaced by clean ones before the bed-gown 
is put on. The day clothing must be placed where it can air 
all night, if it is expected to be worn the next day. The same 
should be done with the night clothing after the babe is dressed 
in the morning. Not infrequently do housewives put the night 
clothing under the pillow when making the bed. 

The Baby's Sleep* 

The hours for sleep are regulated with the same precision 
as the meals, usually, although the infant depends upon mother 
or nurse to be fed, and can go to sleep of his own accord. 
New-born babes spend all the time aside from feeding and 
dressing in sleep. As the senses unfold a little more, waking 
time occurs each day, until at the age of a year and a half he 
will sleep about fourteen out of the twenty-four hours, and 
about eleven hours at three years. 

The regularity consists in getting him ready for bed at a 
given hour every night, and once or twice during the 
day, according to the age. After the fourth or fifth year few 
children wiM sleep during the day; but at night they should 
retire not later than eight o'clock. 



234 HYGIENE OF INFANCY. 

Most mothers will prefer putting their own babies to bed; 
it is such a good time for cultivating confidences, especially 
after conversation becomes possible. One never more realizes 
the feeling of nearness, "the flesh of my flesh, and dear of 
my heart" consciousness. She who delegates this hour to a 
hireling misses one of the precious heritages of motherhood. 

No child of any age should sleep with an adult, or with 
another child. A babe may be placed in a crib by the side of 
its mother's bed where she can easily attend to its needs. 

If the babe is fed and put to bed at seven in the evening, 
at nine and at eleven it will need to be fed again. At which 
times the mother should see if the napkin needs changing, 
and in returning it to the crib its position should be changed. 
Damp napkins can be prevented by holding the child out at 
feeding time. Both child and mother should have unbroken 
rest from eleven p. m. until morning. The bed should consist 
of a mattress covered with a rubber cloth upon which is a pad 
the length and breadth of the mattress. Crib sheets and blan- 
kets form the covering, and a very small pillow supports the 
head and neck. 

Feathers are objectionable because the body, sinking among 
them, is kept too warm, which weakens the system and makes 
it susceptible to cold. 

Care should be observed about not covering the nose and 
mouth. It will be better to have a fire in the room with light 
bed-covering than to oppress the body with weighty covers. 
If the little one is restless, it is a good plan to secure the blan- 
kets in several places with stout safety pins such as are used 
in blanketing horses, to prevent its becoming uncovered and 
getting chilled. If the child comes in winter, hot water bot- 
tles are good to place about the little body to preserve its heat. 

As soon as the child is taken up in the morning the bedding 



HYGIENE OF INFANCY. 235 

should be placed separately in the direct sunlight and air and 
not be made up for an hour or longer. The great disadvan- 
tage of having a bed in the living-room is the inability to ex- 
pose it for any length of time to the sunshine and air before 
making it up; especially so in cold weather. Whenever pos- 
sible the bed-rooms should be separate from the living-rooms, 
and the windows never closed except against a storm. 

The baby's crib-bed being left to air in the bed-room, for 
day-time use the padded box-bed is serviceable. Take a box 
of good dimensions, pad it well inside and cover the outside 
with a pretty cretonne; place baby's pillow and blanket therein, 
and there is as safe and comfortable a bed as can be found. 
If the mother must be chief domestic as well as nurse, the box- 
bed may be mounted on casters, and drawn to whatever part 
of the house requires mother's presence. 

Crying Babies Unnatural 

Never dose an infant with drugs, soothing syrups and the 
like. Crying babies are unnatural. If baby cries there is some- 
thing wrong; unless the training is wrong and he is crying 
to have his own way. In neither instance should drugging be 
resorted to. Discover the cause and correct it. Trying to 
overcome an effect by administering medicine brings on a 
worse disorder as the effect of the medicine. 

Dr. William Hall says : "A very common practice is to give 
something to stop the baby from crying ; then when diarrhea 
follows, to give something to stop the diarrhea ; and so it does ; 
it keeps the infant from crying, it cures diarrhea ; it is infalli- 
ble in summer complaints; but sooner or later, or within a 
few days, inflammation of the brain comes on, and the child 
dies; the mother does not note the connection. When the 
child does not die it will grow up puny in body or mind. One 



236 HYGIENE OF INFANCY. 

mother who said she never went visiting without her bottle 
of soothing syrup raised her baby. But the child could never 
continue in school for headaches ; hence was not fully equipped 
for adult life, through lack of education. 

Exercise and Air» 

Exercise for a little child should begin about the third or 
fourth day after birth, when it may be carried gently in the 
nurse's arms for ten minutes, two or three times daily. After 
the first month, if the weather is warm, it should be carried 
out of doors as often daily, using an extra wrap and cap to 
protect the child; except, of course, stormy days. It may 
then be carried to a distant part of the house where good ven- 
tilation is possible. The nurse should walk slowly and evenly, 
to prevent any sudden jars to the delicate organism. Jolting, 
jarring, noise, if a part of the earliest environment of a babe, 
surely start it on the road to viciousness. When there is no 
pain to attend nor want to satisfy the babe should be quiet 
and happy. If these are ignored and the infantile mind- 
diverted by jolts, jarring, singing, his temper becomes soured 
and his disposition biased for ill. 

The babe should not be held in an upright position for any 
length of time. Ordinarily the child will not be able to sup- 
port its own head and back until the sixth to the eighth month. 
The muscles of the back which hold the spine in position should 
be thoroughly strengthened by growth and development before 
the babe is encouraged to sit alone. Nature's work cannot, 
with impunity, be hastened, no more in infancy than before 
or during birth. Curvature of the spine results from muscles 
of the back being used before there is proper strength. When 
weak the weight of the trunk pulls the spine forward; then 
the chest movements are hindered, the blood imperfectly 



HYGIENE OF INFANCY. 237 

aerated, and the child becomes an incurable weakling, or de- 
formed. 

As soon as a child begins to know the joys of activity, he 
should be laid upon a mattress or sofa, guarding him so he 
cannot fall, and be allowed to exercise in his own way. He will 
kick his legs, wave his arms, crow and show all the points of 
a healthy animal. All these movements serve to strengthen; 
even the crowing and "ah-goo" of articulation strengthen the 
voice-box. Exercise is one of the essential conditions of 
growth. Healthy life demands activity. As the child grows 
older he should not be persuaded into any attempts at physical 
exertion; when there is strength of body and mind enough 
to control the muscular action, attempts will be made of his 
own accord. He must be given time to work out the solutions 
to his own problems if he be hardy for so doing. 

After a baby is four months of age, a carriage may be 
used to take him out daily. Up to this time the arms are 
preferable, especially in cold weather, the heat from the body 
of mother or nurse warming the child. The weight should 
be changed from arm to arm occasionally during an airing. 
If the weather is cold when the carriage is assumed, a hot- 
water bottle should be placed to the feet. The body of the 
carriage should be made comfortable with one or more pillows, 
upon which the baby is laid, and covered cozily. The sun- 
shade should always be ready to screen the eyes from any 
trying light. Care should be used in traveling over rough 
places in the street, to prevent jars. 

When the child begins to creep the proper place for such 
exercise is perplexing to find. A baby-tender, which is a kind 
of low fence of given dimensions, and hinges together, is use- 
ful. If the weather is cold, and the floor more or less 
draughty, the space enclosed may be made comfortable by one 



238 HYGIENE OF INFANCY. 

or two comforts so laid as to line baby's "yard." Or a large 
box, suitable for plenty of movement, may be padded and 
placed on casters for use of the creeper; if it is slatted part 
of the way up, say the top half of its height, the little hands 
will try to assist to the standing posture, and thus gain strength 
for walking. 

After the power to walk is developed the open-air exercise 
may, once during the day, be taken on foot, carefully protect- 
ing the feet and legs before going out if the weather is chilly 
or damp. 

The Child's Spiritual Development. 

After all the physical wants have been properly attended, 
another need, just as important, at the same time must be sup- 
plied : it is an environment of love. Physical comforts are es- 
sential to bodily growth and development ; love is required for 
spiritual development — for the true internal growth of indi- 
viduality. Love is spiritual sunshine. 

Little ones early reflect surrounding conditions. Living in 
an atmosphere of harmony, they will develop naturally and 
without the abrupt streaks of anger and cruelty which too 
frequently make themselves manifest. Home life being 
inharmonious, the budding character is warped in accordance 
therewith. 

Father and mother should be playmates and comrades, 
rather than superior beings or rulers of whom a child stands 
in awe. 

In learning the language of the household, simplicity must 
be the rule to conform with the thoughts of the infant. A 
profusion of words is objectionable; they confuse rather than 
conform to the child ideals. "Language that lies beyond the 
comprehension of the child finds no thought or germs of 



HYGIENE OF INFANCY. 239 

thought with which to unite in the child's mind, and thus 
retards mental development by loading the mind with incon- 
gruous elements, with food that can not be digested or assim- 
ilated — placing the brain in the condition of an infant's 
stomach loaded with dainties and rich food ; the stomach may 
be full, but it can not save' the child from starvation. Thus, 
if a child — say nine months old — is thirsty, the words, 'Must 
its mamma div her pets a little dink ?' are, perhaps, not a whit 
more injurious than 'Does mother's little darling wajnt a 
drink?' Both make false impressions or none at all to corre- 
spond with the child's mental condition, unless it be the word 
'drink' in the second form. But the words 'Baby — drink' will 
correspond so nearly with the simple forms of the child's 
thoughts and feelings, that, in connection with suitable actions 
on the part of the mother, they will go far towards liberating 
these thoughts and bringing them to clearer consciousness." — 
Law of Childhood. 

Molding: Mind and Char acter* 

As the body must build its structures out of the food mate- 
rial given it, so must the character and mind of the child be 
made out of the every-day influences of its life. He speaks 
the language, thinks the thoughts, copies the acts of those by 
whom he is surrounded, as soon as the mind sufficiently un- 
folds. If he hears nothing but kind, loving words, he will be 
kind. If he hears no slang at home, what is heard outside will 
make little impression ; so with profane and impure language. 
The personality of the child is the total of all the tendencies, 
good or bad, rough or gentle, which he has inherited, and all 
of the images which he has received since birth, every second 
of his life. The child is then worth whatever he gets from 
mother and father, as developed or controlled by education. 



240 HYGIENE OF INFANCY. 

Let him live in an atmosphere of strife and selfishness where 
might makes right, where the weak must yield to the strong, 
unjust though it may be, where the father of the family ruth- 
lessly disregards the wants of mother and children, while the 
mother goes about as a thief in her own house, stealing what is 
her own to feed and clothe herself and children, and very soon 
the child will grow to feel that his desires can be gotten by 
force or strategy. He loses that straightforwardness which 
characterizes honesty, and through no fault of his own. 

Says Mr. B. O. Flower in the Coming Age: "Look to the 
little ones. Spend every moment you can with them; teach 
them unselfishness, gentleness, and loyalty to truth. Educate 
their minds and their souls. This, O parents, is your first and 
greatest duty. The children demand it; they have come at 
your bidding, they are your guests and your offspring, and 
they are in the dark; you must lead them to the sun-bathed 
highways of goodness and knowledge. 

"The future also demands it. You have no right to call 
forth lives which, through your neglect, indifference and care- 
less ignorance, shall curse the civilization of tomorrow, or 
heap sin and sorrow on society, already groaning beneath its 
load of woe." 

Severe measures in the training of little folks generally lack 
coolness and wisdom. Parents, too often, consult their own 
comfort and convenience rather than benefits to the child. 
This is especially true when the child arrives at the age of 
three or four years ; when, as some people are wont to say, it 
can look out for itself. Because the little brain can not com- 
prehend what is said to it, the child is punished often with 
blows. When fits of anger come to him as the result of con- 
tact with an atmosphere charged with parental unbalance, more 
harshness is administered to quell the disturbed equilibrium. 



HYGIENE OF INFANCY. 241 

But terrorizing the little one does no real good. The superior 
force may quiet the tempest temporarily, but it will burst forth 
at another time. To efface wrong in a child it must first be 
effaced in the elders. 

A keynote of happiness should be sounded for the day by 
father and mother, and the smaller ones will attune themselves 
to it. Home is the place where all should cultivate cheerfulness 
as a duty. It is the haven of rest and development for all its 
inmates, and mainly depends for its integrity upon the two 
who founded it — the father and mother. 



PART II. 




CHAPTER VII. 

Development from Birth to Puberty. 

■ 

NFANTS born at full time vary in length and 

weight from the twelve or fourteen pound baby 
to the tiny doll-like creature of one and a half tx> 
two pounds. The average weight is about seven 
pounds, and the average length about eighteen inches. 
Large infants have heretofore been considered the more hardy, 
but observation proves that the babe who is merely round and 
plump, and not fat, is healthiest. Mothers can, during gesta- 
tion, regulate the size of offspring at birth, by attention to ex- 
ercise and diet. A small child that is healthy will make the 
journey to the external world with less pain to his mother and 
danger to himself than a large one. 

During the first week of life the child may lose a few ounces 
as the result of a changed environment, but this should be 
recovered at the end of ten days, and the weight thereafter 
steadily increase. The subjoined table will indicate the approx- 
imate growth from one month to one year of age : 

Age. Length. Weight. 

Birth 18 inches 7 pounds 

1 month 20 inches 8 pounds 

2 months 21 inches 9J pounds 

3 months 22 inches 1 1 pounds 

4 months 23 inches \2\ pounds 

242 



DEVELOPMENT FROM BIRTH TO PUBERTY. 243 



Age. Length. Weight. 

5 months 23^ inches 14 pounds 

6 months. 24 inches 15 pounds 

7 months 24J inches 16 pounds 

8 months 25 inches 17 pounds 

9 months 25 J inches 18 pounds 

10 months. 26 inches 19 pounds • 

1 1 months 26^ inches , 20 pounds 

12 months 27 inches 21 pounds 

Primarily the head and secondarily the body are large when 
compared with the arms and legs, but the disproportion is 
overcome in normal development Length increases more rap- 
idly during the first month than at any time thereafter. 

All babies are born with blue eyes ; if there is to be a change 
in color it is noticeable at about the third month. At birth the 
sense of sight is very imperfect; the child distinguishes only 
between light and shade. It has frequently been observed that, 
when a night-light has been used in the lying-in room, after 
it is no longer needed the baby would cry for it as being 
preferable to the dark. These instances occur, however, when 
no regularity is observed as to baby's habits. 

From the sixth week to the second month the new world 
unfolding to the blank mind may be noticed in the discovery 
of his own fists. The recognition of objects by sight is evident 
about the sixth month. 

For a variable period after birth hearing is not aroused. 
Taste and touch are present at birth. 

The Child Mind's First Impression. 

"The first impression on the mind of the child should be 
made by means of contact with the mother. The little aimless 
hand, blindly groping in its new environment, should touch the 
mother's flesh, and the velvety cheek should come in contact 



244 DEVELOPMENT FROM BIRTH TO PUBERTY. 

with nothing less than the mother's breast," says Dr. Melendy. 
"The sense of touch inevitably communicates its delight to its 
four companion senses, and in a short time excites them 
to activity. 

"In the marvelous laboratory of the mother's system has 
been prepared milk, sweet, sapid and nutritious, which awak- 
ens into its delight the sense of taste. By a delightful affect- 
ing of the senses is thus laid in the mind of the babe the 
foundation for every future idea of sympathy and beauty." 

It has often been noticed that new-born infants have a dread 
of being left without support. This is probably due to the 
changed sensation after birth. While within the uterus, there 
is pressure on all sides, the absence of which is sensible to 
the infant at birth. It will cling tenaciously to anything within 
reach. Much restlessness and fretfulness could be overcome in 
newly arrived babies by firmly supporting the body on all sides 
with pillows and blankets. 

When the new baby is first washed it will be seen thai its 
skin is covered with down, the fineness of which varies much 
in different children ; sometimes it can hardly be seen, while in 
others it gives a furry appearance to the babe. 

Usually both bowels and kidneys will act during the first 
twenty- four hours ; after that the bowels will be moved twice or 
three times daily and the bladder will be emptied five or six 
times daily. 

The umbilical cord will become detached usually on the fifth 
day. 

Mental and Physical Development* 

Unfolding of intelligence and the development of physical 
powers keep pace, the brain guiding the activities of the body. 
This is, however, not true when mothers try to make their 



DEVELOPMENT FROM BIRTH TO PUBERTY. 245 

babes precocious in walking or creeping or any of the phases 
of development that should come naturally. Persuaded to do 
things which they themselves have not mastered, the courage 
which goes with personal mastery is not theirs. 

Eruption of the milk teeth comes at variable periods in differ- 
ent infants; from the third to the thirteenth month is about 
the range of the deviation of the appearance. 

Normally the teeth are cut in groups, each effort being suc- 
ceeded by a period of rest. The lower middle incisors usually 
appear first, to be followed in from three to nine weeks by the 
four upper incisors. The next group will be the other lower 
incisors and the first four molars, which are cut from the 
twelfth to the fifteenth month. The four canines, or cuspids, 
known as the "eye-teeth" and "stomach-teeth," come at from a 
year and a half to two years, and the last four molars between 
the twentieth and thirtieth month; these complete the first 
set, or milk-teeth. 

The first indication of a beginning of the power of locomo- 
tion is when the babe will try to rest upon its feet when taken 
into the lap. When about seven or eight months of age, if 
placed upon the floor he will try to reach what is just beyond, 
first stretching out a hand and following with the knee. Later 
the erect posture comes. The babe will, by holding to a 
chair or anything that affords support, walk about that article. 
Then, when stronger, he will take one or more steps alone, 
gradually gaining strength and control over his muscles. At 
from the fourteenth to the eighteenth month he should be 
able to walk alone with ease and assurance. When the powers 
of walking are not developed at two years of age the case 
should be investigated, as it is hardly a natural condition. 
Delay may be due to general feebleness, to paralysis of the 



246 DEVELOPMENT FROM BIRTH TO PUBERTY. 

muscles of one or both legs, while a limping with pain in 
the knee would suggest hip-joint disease. 

In acquiring speech children learn to communicate by imi- 
tating other members of the family. Younger children learn 
more quickly than the first-born for having small playmates. 
A child of one year can generally articulate a few words of 
one syllable, but not more, because the small muscles of the 
larynx are not sufficiently under control. It appears to be 
easier, later, to pronounce a word of more than one syllable 
than to say two or more words of but one syllable, the brain 
not being equal to express the meaning of more than one word. 
At eighteen months most infants will be able to use a number 
of short sentences, and at two years to have a pretty fair com- 
mand of language with which to communicate with the family. 

It is rare to find a child that is precocious in both walking 
and talking. When they are forward in one direction they 
are backward in the other. If the sense of hearing is known 
to be acute, and the child is healthy, there need never be any 
worry as to backwardness in speech. 

As soon as speech becomes possible, in any degree, the idea 
represented thereby becomes known. Words when learned are 
associated with the objects to which they apply. Between one 
and two years a child will distinguish small numbers, as one, 
two, three, four; at about the same time it has the sense 
of color, and can name some of the primaries. Distinguishing 
between noise and music varies very much. Some children 
very early are charmed by music, while others are "tone-deaf," 
as was Du Maurier's Trilby; but this apparently bears no 
relation to unfolding intelligence. 

From the third to the sixth year development of intelligence 
is quite rapid. Prof. Hailmann says: "Endowed with an 
uncontrollable tendency for a further evolution in all direc- 



DEVELOPMENT FROM BIRTH TO PUBERTY. 247 

tions, he stretches forth points of contact, eager to unite with 
any assimilable elements that may offer. As yet his power 
of discernment is small, with reference to the good or evil 
that is to result from the union. The tender membranes of 
the stomach absorb the corrupt liquid that breeds disease and 
death almost as eagerly as they do the wholesome milk of the 
mother; the mind receives delusive impressions, unites with 
the elements of vile thoughts and feelings as freely as with 
their opposites; the energies are exerted and grow in the 
direction of vice as actively as they do in the direction of vir- 
tue and wisdom ; the child thrives as vigorously into hate as 
into love." 

The senses and emotions predominate over the reason and 
intelligence. Training during these years must consist in 
guarding the child against contaminating influences, so that 
he will be brought in contact only with that which will aid 
him to grow in purity and goodness. And, as Prof. Hailmann 
further says, "the indiscriminate tendencies for absorption 
undergo a differentiation; the tendencies for wholesome ele- 
ments gather new strength from day to day by uniting with 
their similars; the tendencies for injurious elements are weak- 
ened at an equal rate, starved to death, as it were, isolated, 
transformed into tendencies for good. The system is forming 
good habits, we say, and 'the formation of good habits' is the 
watchword of the true education of childhood." 

The Teeth* 

Second dentition begins about the sixth year, the first teeth 
appearing being the four double teeth just behind the posterior 
molars; they are the first permanent molar teeth. The milk 
teeth are displaced by the second teeth. As the permanent 
tooth grows toward the edge of the gum, it presses on the 
root of the milk-tooth in front and causes its absorption, the 



248 DEVELOPMENT FROM BIRTH TO PUBERTY. 

whole root usually disappearing, and the temporary tooth 
loosens and drops out. The edge of the tooth that drops out 
is more or less ragged and sometimes gives rise to the idea 
that the tooth has been broken off. This, however, is not true, 
unless there has been actual violence. 

The first milk-teeth to loosen and drop out are the two lower 
incisors, they usually being first to be cut; the second teeth 
which displace the milk-teeth follow the order of eruption of 
the first set. Sometimes, instead of causing the root to be 
absorbed the canines cut through the gum above or below the 
temporary teeth; when this is to be observed the first tooth 
must be removed, or "fangs," as the unsightly growths are 
called, will mar the facial appearance. From their position 
at the angles of the mouth these four teeth, more than any 
of the others, can make or mar the countenance. The perma- 
nent set is not completed until the appearance of the "wisdom 
teeth" at from sixteen years up — sometimes they never come 
through. Second dentition is considered done about the 
twelfth year, wisdom teeth not being regarded. There are 
twenty-eight teeth, until the appearance of the wisdoms. 

Teething children during either the first or second dentition 
must have an even, smooth regime of daily life or they will 
be more or less fretful and querulous. The business of par- 
enthood requires steady care during the progress through 
childhood to puberty. And if the healthy, happy child needs 
care, how much more must be the share of another who is an 
invalid — or semi-invalid. 

A Nurse's Wise Suggestions* 

A trained nurse says : "A sick child needs most of all to 
forget himself. Little need, in these days of the clinical ther- 
mometer, the 'feeling the pulse,' and understanding the facial 
expression, to be always quizzing an invalid as to how 'he 



DEVELOPMENT FROM BIRTH TO PUBERTY. 249 

feels,' if 'the pain is gone/ if he 'is* better now/ if 'anything 
hurts him/ or 'don't you feel able to sit up?' An intelligent 
nurse or mother can answer all these questions for herself 
without a word. To be put in mind of one's pain is as bad 
as the pain. Any one who has been sick knows there are in- 
tervals of self-unconsciousness when the thought is fixed upon 
some pleasant theme. * * * Every word and every act of 
the sick-room should be with a view to banishing self-con- 
sciousness. Do not even ask if the invalid is hungry. If it is 
time to eat, tempt by the sight of food. 'Spring the sugges- 
tion' on him and surprise the failing appetite, which if ques- 
tioned does not always answer. 

"There is danger of a sick child's being made selfish by his 
attendants. Teach him to think of others and to make as 
little trouble for willing feet and hands as possible. The child 
will be happier and have a better 'getting-up' morally. * * * 
The art of keeping a happy face before an invalid child is 
difficult to acquire, especially if the nurse is the mother, and 
a happy tone is yet more difficult. 

"To rehearse a child's symptoms before the invalid is to do 
a very dreadful thing. In a short time the child will 'show 
off' his aches and pains for the benefit of strangers or members 
of the family. He will be taught that his sickness is interest- 
ing, and learn to ' exaggerate in an innocent way for the 
entertainment of friends. * * * Better teach the child that 
illness is often nature's punishment for sins or neglect of her 
laws, and that the culprit who is suffering should be more 
ashamed and sorry than proud. At the best, illness of any 
sort is a misfortune and should not be even discussed with 
complaisance. And yet illness may be a great teacher if the 
invalid has a wise nurse. Hearty resolves as to what good 
things one will do when one gets well are beneficial and hasten 
recovery." » 



250 DEVELOPMENT FROM BIRTH TO PUBERTY. 



Growth in Height and Weight 

The growth during childhood is seldom uniform. Children 
will often remain stationary for a time and then have a period 
of rapid growth. In the ninth or tenth year and again at the 
approach of puberty there are sudden shoots at growth. 

The following table will give a good average for growth in 
height and weight from one year up to fourteen years : 

Age. Height. Weight. 

i year 2J inches 21 pounds 

2 years 31 inches 26 pounds 

3 years 34 inches 29 pounds 

4 years 36 inches 33 pounds 

5 years . 39 inches 36 pounds 

6 years 41 inches 39 pounds 

7 years 43 inches 44 pounds 

8 years 46 inches 48 pounds 

9 years 48 inches 52 pounds 

10 years 50 inches 57 pounds 

1 1 years 52 inches 61 pounds 

12 years 53 inches 68 pounds 

13 years 55 inches yy pounds 

14 years 58 inches 89 pounds 

The chest measurement is regarded as another reliable evi- 
dence of development. The average infant should have a 
chest measurement of thirteen inches, which should at four 
months be increased to fifteen inches ; to sixteen inches by the 
sixth month, to seventeen by the twelfth month. When the 
age of five years is reached twenty-one inches is the average 
chest measurement. 

Children's Exercise and Play. 

After the fifth or sixth year exercises that develop the 
breathing powers should be encouraged. Well-developed lungs 
aid the body to resist disease; they are one of the important 
eliminating channels, as well as the source of blood aeration. 



DEVELOPMENT FROM BIRTH TO PUBERTY. 251 

Conscious breathing may be explained simply, so that a child 
will often of himself inflate and empty the lungs during the 
day. 

Bed-time exercise is to be commended after the child is 
old enough to romp and play. Regularity should be ob- 
served, though the spirit of play should prevail. Of course 
a very young child can not be held to rule very well — but the 
kittenish frolic before bed-time paves the way for sound sleep. 

Mother or father should be the playmate and leading spirit ; 
and during the play-hour they will be enabled to learn tenden- 
cies that will guide them as shapers of character. The home 
in which children regard their parents as antagonistic to their 
recreation has something radically wrong at its foundation. 

Gerald Massey's Advice* 

Gerald Massey, who lived in the middle of the nineteenth 
century and was a prophet as to the coming enlightenment, 
had the following to say on the rearing of children: "The 
life we live with them every day is the teaching that tells, and 
not the precepts uttered weekly that are continually belied by 
our own daily practices. Give the children a knowledge of nat- 
ural law, especially in that domain of physical nature which has 
hitherto been tabooed. If we break a natural law we suffer 
pain in consequence, no matter whether we know the law or 
not. This result is not an accident, because it always happens 
and is obviously intended to happen. Punishments are not to 
be avoided by ignorance of effects ; they can only be warded off 
by a knowledge of causes. Therefore nothing but knowledge 
can help them. * * * It is good to set before them the lofti- 
est ideals — not those that are mythical and non-natural, but 
those that have been lived in human reality. The best ideal 
of all has to be portrayed by the parents in the realities of life 



252 DEVELOPMENT FROM BIRTH TO PUBERTY. 

at home. The teaching that goes deepest will be indirect, and 
the truth will tell most on them when it is overheard. When 
you are not watching and the children are — that is when the 
lessons are learned for life." 

Building: Character* 

Knowledge of exact truth is the only sure way to create a 
loyalty to truth, and that, above and below all things, must 
form the true basis of character. Upon it all ideals should rest. 
Healthful, happy surroundings during the formative period of 
the ideal, with food for quickening the powers of imagination, 
will aid the youth to read delight in whatever sphere of life 
it may be his to live. As Gerald Massey says, a noble life, a 
splendid deed when unfolded to the child lights up his imagina- 
tion and carries his thoughts and purposes into the realm of to- 
morrow, when he too will be an actor in the busy world of 
affairs. 

When the development of imagination is neglected life is 
apt to be tame, without flavor or perfume. So while the body 
develops according to the care given it, the soul of a child, 
which really molds the after life, must be given its larger share 
of cultivation. Body and mind act and react on each other. But 
while the body may be made a perfect physique, if the poetic 
and emotional phases of character do not unfold, most of the 
influences which are uplifting will be as a sealed book, or as if 
they were not. 



PART II. 




CHAPTER VIII. 

Disorders of Infancy and Childhood. 

'OR convenience, the consideration of these dis- 
orders will be made under the heads of those occur- 
ring in early infancy, during dentition, and the 
common maladies of childhood. 
In a tedious and difficult labor the shape of the head of an 
infant is sometimes deformed, and at times there 
are bruises resulting from prolonged pressure. The head will 
soon assume a natural shape. If the bruises are severe they 
may be bathed with something cooling; as witch-hazel and 
water. 

The Umbilical Cord — The NaveL 

The separation of the umbilical cord does not always pro- 
ceed normally. It should shrink and dry away, with only a 
fine line of ulceration at the junction with the abdomen; and, 
when ready to drop off on the fifth or sixth day, it should 
leave a healthy skin with a slight depression in the center. The 
departure from the normal is when the stump of the cord 
softens and decays. In this there is a wide line of ulceration 
and a very perceptible odor of decay ; the separation does not 
occur so quickly. When the navel cord is dressed with antiseptic 
absorbent cotton this condition will not occur. The cord should 
be powdered frequently with an antiseptic dry powder such as 

253 



254 DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 

boracic acid mixed with starch, which will arrest decomposi- 
tion. 

Occasionally, after separation of the cord, a small growth 
about the size of a pea will appear on the navel and discharge 
a thin liquid. The source of this discharge will be found to 
be a small ulcerating surface within the depression of the navel. 
This should be carefully washed and dusted with the antisep- 
tic powder. 

Rupture at the navel is not uncommon in infancy, owing 
to the thinness of the abdominal wall at that point. If, from 
any cause, the child cries lustily, the intestine may protrude to 
the size of a thimble, or larger. Care must be observed during 
the bath not to injure the protruding bowel. Upon dressing a 
padded pasteboard two inches square may be stitched into 
position, and placed over the rupture. Another recommenda- 
tion is to take Burgundy pitch plaster, melt and spread over 
a cloth two or three inches square; then mold a small marble 
of the pitch and place in the center of the cloth; heat just 
enough to moisten and immediately apply with the small ball 
pressing over the navel. This can be left several days or until 
it removes easily ; when another fresh one can replace it. An- 
other good method is to replace the intestine gently, and while 
it is held back an assistant places over it several strips of 
adhesive plaster. 

This form of rupture may appear at any time during the 
first year of life, but is most common during the early weeks 
of infancy. It is curable when care is persistently used ; but if 
not, there is always more or less danger to health. 

Irritation from Urine* 

As the result of some irritating quality in the urine, the 
skin of the thighs, groins and lower abdomen sometimes be- 



DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 255 

comes inflamed and red; or may, instead of the redness, be 
covered with small pimples, the heads of which are flattened 
or abraded. When this exists it will be found that the artificial 
food has been too rich, or too abundant, in which case it must 
be diluted more, or lessened in quantity. The diaper must be 
changed as soon as the bladder evacuates, if possible to be 
known, and at least three times daily the parts should be 
thoroughly bathed, dried, and dusted with the antiseptic pow- 
der. The diaper must not be used again without washing. 

Crying when passing water should cause the nurse to make 
examination of the diaper to discover any unnatural condition 
of the urine. If there seems to be nothing abnormal in the 
urine, the external organs should be examined to discover and 
correct any irritation, or detect any malformation. In the 
male infant there sometimes exists a narrowness or unusual 
length of the foreskin which will cause trouble. This is cor- 
rected by a slight bit of surgery known as circumcision. In 
female infants a thin membrane is sometimes across the open- 
ing: a slight incision must then be made by the attending 
physician to remove it. 

Inflammation of the Eyelids^ 

Inflammation of the eyelids of a new-born babe comes on 
about the third day. It will be noticed when the child awakens 
that the eyelids are slightly glued together, and the edges 
at the corner are redder than is natural. The light causes pain 
and there is a tendency to keep the eyelids closed. A collection 
of watery matter at the inner corner of the eyelid tends to run 
down the cheeks. The lids then become red and swollen and 
are kept closed. 

When the first indication of glueyness is to be noticed, at- 
tention should be given to. cleansing the eyes, for the great 



256 DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 



r^?<v>»' 



point in the treatment is cleanliness. The eyes must be bathed 
three or four times daily with warm water, or warm milk and 
water. The best method for doing this is by two persons 
sitting facing each other. The one to administer the eye-bath 
receives the head in her lap while the assistant holds the body 
and confines -the restless hands and feet. The head of the 
child is grasped firmly between the knees; the eyelids are 
separated and the eyeball washed with a very soft cloth moist- 
ened in the water. After the treatment the cloth should be 
burned, as this is a very contagious condition. The nurse 
must be very careful not to allow any of the discharge to get 
to her own eyes. 

Nursing: Sore Mouth* 

Thrush, aphtha, or nursing sore mouth, is due to errors in 
diet, or to an inherited scrofulous condition. It is a spongy, 
morbid growth of yellowish-white color. Examining the 
mouth of an infant suffering from thrush, it will be observed 
that the tongue and interior of the cheeks and gums are dotted 
over by small patches like flakes of curdled milk. The true 
condition may be ascertained by attempting to remove one 
of the patches. When the disease is severe there is trouble in 
nursing; hence the name "nursing sore mouth." Sometimes 
the child refuses his food on account of the pain caused by 
attempts to eat. 

This condition causes more or less indigestion through sym- 
pathy with the affected part. The importance attached to 
this disorder depends on the extent with which it interferes 
with digestion and the ability to take nourishment. It will not 
occur in children who are fed with regularity from the breast 
if the mother's milk is wholesome. But it is very common 
among babes fed artificially. Cleanliness of bottles, tubes and 



DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 257 

nipples is imperative, and any slight disturbance of the digest- 
ive system should be corrected at once. The child's mouth 
should be examined frequently and the first indication of 
thrush met with proper treatment. The mouth should be 
washed lightly but thoroughly through the interior to remove 
any milk that may remain; after which a wash of sage tea 
in which a little borax has been dissolved will be all that is 
needed. The disorder rarely lasts more than a few days. 

Diarrhea. 

Diarrhea is Nature's method of eliminating objectionable 
matter from the digestive tract. In babes at the breast the 
condition is often caused by the mother's indiscretion in eating 
or drinking, or by worry and mental disturbance which so 
alter her milk that it is indigestible. 

In hand-fed infants similar causes may be traced, as change 
in the feed of the cow, milk from a different cow, or some 
slight decomposition in the milk not noticeable to the adult 
sight or taste. A previous indigestion may have existed in 
a small degree, which will result in severe diarrhea. 

The treatment will consist in finding and removing the 
cause, and in soothing and giving rest to the digestive canal. 
The child must be kept quiet, and heat applied. Never use 
remedies to check a diarrhea at once, as this prevents removal 
of obstructions and brings on serious illness. An enema of 
hot water will often bring relief without other aid. 

Dr. Westland says: "As a general rule the less medicine 
given to infants suffering from diarrhea, the more rapid 
their recovery will be ; and no medicine at all with the excep- 
tion of one small dose of castor-oil at the commencement of 
the illness should be given unless sanctioned by medical 
advice. The symptoms which would indicate the urgent neces- 
sity of skilled advice are, mainly, great frequency of motion, 



258 DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 

the presence of vomiting, a wasted and pinched appearance 
of the face of the infant, tendency to coldness of the hands 
and feet, and indications of. twitching and convulsions." 

Constipation* 

Constipation is an unnatural condition, coming usually to 
the nursing babe from the diet of the mother. The colon, or 
large intestine, becomes impacted with the residuum of food 
which should have passed away. Want of regularity in feed- 
ing and holding the child out to stool are among the causes. 

The first thing to do in constipation is to remove the im- 
pacted faeces. This may be done by injecting one to four 
teaspoonfuls of sweet oil to remain for six hours. To prevent 
the oil from being passed out at once a pad should be held 
against the rectal opening for five minutes. The object of the 
oil is to soften the hardened faeces. If there has been no action 
for six hours, then use an enema of warm soap and water, or 
salt and water. A teacupful will be sufficient to use for a 
small infant; more for an older child. The syringe tube should 
be anointed with soap or vaseline to insure a painless entrance. 
If possible, prevent the immediate discharge of the water by 
pressure on the anus. This gives time for the muscular 
activity of the colon to be well established. 

The best position for the babe is on his back, or resting upon 
the abdomen upon the mother's lap. 

The soap suppository is often used to cause an action of 
the bowels. This is made from a piece of castile soap, shaved 
to the size of a lead pencil, tapering at one end, and about two 
inches long. It is moistened in water and inserted nearly the 
whole length. In from one to five minutes the bowels will be 
moved. 

After unloading the colon, attention must be directed to the 
cause. 



DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 259 

Never give a physic. A physic stimulates the secretions 
of the intestines and causes a free passage, but the reaction 
must come. The intestinal juices fall below the normal, the 
food cannot be well digested, and another wrong condition 
ensues resulting from the physic. After the lower bowel has 
been unloaded, try to overcome the constipation before it gets 
to be a habit. Massage over the abdomen for five or ten 
minutes at a regular hour each day will stimulate muscular 
activity. Give the child plenty of water to drink; in especial, 
a drink of pure water the first thing in the morning. Water 
is natural to the body, and except when the body is very 
warm, or there is a bad diarrhea, it would hardly be possible 
to give a child too much water. 

Colic, 

Colic has been a tormentor of infancy for generations ; and 
the causes thereof are manifold. In infancy it may come from 
chill, from improper feeding, from maternal indiscretions, 
Dr. Stockham says: "Severe colics are usually the result of 
derangements of the liver, and when mothers are badly nour- 
ished the child is frequently born with the trouble.'' 

A mild paroxysm may be relieved by rubbing a warm hand 
over the bowels. Also rub the feet; it assists in equalizing 
the circulation, by which the pain is overcome. 

A warm bath of five minutes' duration is excellent. Let the 
sufferer be undressed and immersed to the armpits. When he 
is removed and dried, he may be placed without dressing in a 
warm blanket with a hot- water bottle to the feet. If sleep 
does not come, apply a poultice of cornmeal, or flaxseed in 
which there is a dash of mustard ; previous to this the bowels 
may be relieved by a warm water enema. Then give a half- 
dozen drops of brandy in some warm water, by way of the 



260 DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 

mouth. The stimulant is suggested if there is depression of 
the fontanelle, which suggests collapse. 

The preventive measures for colicky babies are warmth to 
the bowels and extremities, and regularity in feeding. The 
bowels must be kept warm by the flannel band, and the feet 
covered with soft wool socks and booties. 

It frequently occurs that infants do not pass away the 
meconium, or urine, for many hours, and sometimes not for 
days. If twelve hours elapse without action, the child should 
be immersed in a warm bath. This will relieve any congestion 
of the blood which may have prevented action of the kidneys. 
If there is any mammary secretion, putting the babe to the 
breast at once, allowing it to nurse, gives it material for caus- 
ing the digestion and kidneys to act. If there is no secretion 
the babe may be given a small teaspoonful of pure soft water, 
which will clear the mouth, throat, oesophagus and stomach, 
and start an action in the digestive tract. 

Teething* 

Under natural conditions there should be no constitutional 
disturbances during the period of teething. If the mother is 
well, living an even, hygienic life, her nursing babe should 
experience no suffering during early dentition. And if the 
child is fed with regularity, has plenty of food and fresh air, 
the later dentition should cause no disturbance to the system. 
But if the body is not kept in wholesome condition almost any 
disorder may be fastened upon the child, the most common 
being of nervous, or of digestive, origin. Feverish conditions 
are also easily generated. But there is no single cause so pro- 
lific in fatality as the belief that teething is the cause of serious 
illness. When this explanation suffices the real cause of the 
illness is overlooked. 



DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 261 

There is usually some irritation of the gums when the 
teeth are growing. Let the gums be frequently bathed in cool 
water. Allow the child to have a small, firm, clean piece of 
white cloth dampened in cool water to pull through his own 
toothless gums. Babes will always make strong efforts to gain 
relief. In addition to the irritation there is sometimes inflam- 
mation; often to such an extent that little ulcers are formed. 
These can be distinguished from thrush by the absence of any 
fungus growth. Indeed it is rare that thrush is to be seen 
after time for teething. Should the ulcers occur the applica- 
tion of glycerine of borax is excellent to apply to the gums 
twice daily. Lemon juice rubbed gently over the swollen gum 
is also excellent to relieve irritation. Lancing is not often 
needed. 

For a general nervousness, the tepid bath night and morn- 
ing is an excellent sedative. Given just before putting the 
babe to bed, it insures a quiet night, almost certainly. 

A spasmodic attack known as "child crowing" comes on 
during dentition, sometimes. Usually there are preliminary 
symptoms in the form of a peculiar croaking in the breathing 
for days previous ; again the spasm may occur without warn- 
ing. Certain muscles connected with breathing are arrested 
in their movements. The child becomes suddenly stiff, throws 
its head backwards with staring eyes and an alarmed expres- 
sion; the blood receding, the face becomes pale, then livid. 
Attacks of this nature, if severe, are attended with danger of 
sudden death. 

What is to be done must be done quickly. Apply a cloth 
wrung from hot water to the throat; hold a stimulant to the 
nostrils ; as camphor, ammonia. If these are not effectual get 
the child into hot water as soon as possible. As the spasm 
passes off the breath is drawn with a crowing or hissing 
sound. 



262 DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 

Children with tendencies to ' 'child-crowing," or laryn- 
gismus stridulus, as it is technically called, should be placed 
under medical supervision to prevent recurrence. 

General convulsions differ from child-crowing in there 
being spasmodic action of the voluntary muscles. The attacks 
are sudden; the child is observed to be suddenly stiff, hands 
clenched and breathing arrested temporarily; after a few 
seconds there are convulsive movements of legs, arms and 
face; the mouth is moved irregularly, the face is twitched in 
different directions; the eyes roll from side to side, the eye- 
lids wide open ; arms and legs twitch in a marked manner, the 
convulsive movements extending to fingers and toes. If the 
attack is due to the irritation of teething it will be of short 
duration. There are many causes for this disorder. 

The best treatment for immediate use is the hot full bath. 
If water is at hand, fill the bath-pan and place the child in 
without removing the clothing. Let it remain for five or ten 
minutes, then wrap up warmly and administer an enema of 
warm water. Often this is sufficient to produce a complete 
relaxation. 

If the convulsion occurs shortly after eating it would 
suggest something indigestible in the stomach, and vomiting 
should be induced as soon as the child is able to swallow. If 
possible, tickling the throat with a finger is a good method. 
Frequent recurrences of this disorder suggest some serious 
cause for the attack. Place the child at once in the care of a 
reliable medical practitioner. 

Colds — Croup, 

When dentition does not proceed normally, and there is 
nervousness, slight causes are apt to produce severe conse- 
quences. Chill that might not affect at any other time may 
bring on colds, croup, bronchitis, etc. The tenderness of the 



DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 263 

gums may communicate itself to the nasal passage, to the 
windpipe and bronchial tubes, and through chill may cause 
a state of inflammation. The cold commences with dif- 
ficulty in breathing through the nose, acompanied by a 
watery or mucous discharge. This causes mouth-breathing 
and irritates the other breathing passages by lack of the 
warmth usually prepared by filtering in through the air pass- 
ages of the nose and face. Within a short time a croupy cough 
develops. About this time spasmodic croup is apt to occur 
through the night. The child upon retiring may seem fairly 
well, but, within an hour or so after sleeping, will be awakened 
by apparent choking and a loud, ringing cough. While the 
attack is on it is frightful to witness, but is seldom fatal. 
If it lasts longer than a few minutes efforts must be made 
for relief. If it is possible, saturate the atmosphere of the 
room with steam. If the sleeping-room has no means of 
heating water, a small oil-stove is valuable to have at hand. 
Induce vomiting by means of syrup of ipecac, a teaspoonful 
every ten minutes; or by tickling the palate with the index 
finger. Vomiting assists to release the mucus which is closing 
the windpipe. Apply a compress wrung from either cold or 
hot water; cold seems more preferable for the reason that it 
will draw the heat of inflammation to itself ; it will get warm 
and stay warm, while a hot compress will cool off. Renew 
the compress every hour until relief follows. If there has been 
any constipation the bowels should be cleansed with warm 
water. Dr. Keith says: "If warmly dressed and properly 
fed, the croup cannot 'catch' a child." 

Bronchial Affection* 

The bronchial affection is extension of the "cold," or in- 
flammation, to the bronchial tubes. The child must be con- 
fined in a room with an even temperature night and day 



264 DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 

until the attack is over. It must not be allowed to get cooler 
than 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Every inhalation of cold air 
aggravates the disorder. The use of steam is valuable to 
soothe a cough. Each family in which the children are 
subject to coughs and colds should be provided with a vapor- 
izer. Open fires are best for the rooms in which bronchial 
patients are confined, as the air-tight stoves dry the air of 
the room and exhaust the oxygen. When the cough is severe 
and breathing impeded, apply a compress over the lungs and 
well up against the throat ; cover with a dry flannel. Or apply 
a poultice of corn meal into which a little red pepper has been 
thrown and scalded with hot water; or a mustard poultice. 
These are counterirritants, bringing inflammation to the 
surface. When the attack is not severe, rubbing the chest 
and back with a stimulating liniment, such as camphorated 
oil or ammonia and oil, will be sufficient. Keep the bowels 
freely open by means of enemas if there is no natural action. 
Water is not a foreign substance to the economy of the body 
and can almost always be used with safety. 

Summer Complaint — Cholera Infantum* 

A prolonged diarrhea, sometimes known as summer com- 
plaint, causes great mortality among infants; and often attacks 
occur during dentition, although not caused by that process. 
The symptoms are frequent watery movements from the 
bowels, which at first may be green, and then brown and 
frothy. Sometimes there is a fetid odor, sometimes a soapy 
smell; the latter indicates there has been no intestinal action 
beyond the duodenum, as it is there saponification of the food 
takes place. Sometimes the passages are mixed with mucus 
and undigested food. When there is nausea and vomiting 
the disease is cholera infantum, a malady of the entire diges- 
tive tract. 



DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 265 

Improper food and impure air, together with the enervating 
heat of summer, cause summer complaint. Bottle-fed babies 
are most susceptible to it. It is very difficult to find a prepared 
food that wholly agrees with an infant, and digestion is upset 
by experiments. After weaning-time many children are 
allowed to sit at the table with adults and be helped to what- 
ever is served. The digestion of a baby, or a two-year-old, 
is not capable of making use of an indiscriminate diet, and 
rich food is unsuitable except for active, vigorous adults who 
are much in the open air. 

Some children are prostrated at once by an attack of this 
nature, while others lose strength gradually. It is best to 
put them to bed whenever the movements begin to look sus- 
picious, especially if the head is hot and extremities cold. 
Quiet is absolutely necessary along with heat applied to the 
extremities to equalize the circulation; apply cold compresses 
to the head and change frequently. The juice of fruits is 
excellent to allay both thirst and f everishness ; when this is 
given strain through a sieve to prevent any pulp from being 
part of it. The juice of blackberry is very good; babies that 
have held nothing on the stomach soon accept unsweetened 
blackberry juice. Orange and lemon juices are also very 
grateful. Little food can be appropriated when these attacks 
are on; what is given should be in liquid form, as solid sub- 
stance would have an irritating effect on the mucous lining 
of the alimentary canal. Milk, reduced one-third by boiling 
water, may be a stand-by if relished. Administer regularly. 
Barley water, rice water, thin oatmeal gruel are good. Allow 
the barley or rice to soak for some time and then pour off the 
water for the invalid. 

If twenty-four hours' nursing, with quiet, in a well ven- 
tilated room, quenching thirst with pure water and fruit 



266 DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 

juice, and feeding liquid food, does not act for the better, send 
for your family physician. Do not let the patient get too 
exhausted before sending for skilled attendance. But, unless 
the case has been too aggravated by unhygienic living, the 
above treatment ought to suffice, if given with care and con- 
scientious attention to the patient. 

Abscess of the Ear* 

Abscess of the ear is occasionally to be met with during 
dentition. Sometimes it is so severe as to occasion convul- 
sions. A babe cannot make its distress known except by ges- 
tures and cries, and when this disorder is present it will cry 
and toss the head from side to side, raising a hand to the 
afflicted side. 

When this is suspected, relief may be had by plugging the 
auditory canal with a cotton pledget soaked with laudanum. 
The outside may then be covered by a hot compress. 

The painful stage of the abscess rarely lasts more than a 
day, disappearing when the pus begins to flow. 

Should convulsions occur, the treatment has been given 
heretofore. 

Infectious Diseases* 

There was a time when it was supposed every child must 
have chicken-pox, mumps, measles, whooping-cough and the 
like, and mothers would take their children into families so 
affected in order to inoculate them with the disease. But it 
is now known to be true that healthy bodies resist disease, 
and the doctrine of health is reverberating where sickness and 
disease once swayed. Of the progress of the medical pro- 
fession Dr. George F. Shrady said: "It now embraces 
biology, psychology and metaphysics, and is becoming more 
the zvork of prevention than the cure of disease." 



DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 267 

The mother of children should preach and practice mod- 
eration in all things unless it be breathing fresh air ; and even 
in that there can be a kind of intoxication by breathing too 
much too long. It used to be customary to arouse the children 
of the family when the adults got up, and make them do half 
of the work, with the result that few arrived at healthy 
maturity. Studying causes, many of these adults have been 
bringing to light the precious gospel of health and happiness 
during childhood as the basis of serviceable and happy ma- 
turity. 

Try by all means at hand to make your children "sound 
in wind and limb," "healthy in body and mind," and they 
have within themselves power to resist disease. 

If you have not been successful in so doing, following are 
some statements as to the common diseases of childhood, with 
their treatment: 

The infectious diseases are those which may be communi- 
cated from one person to another in books, clothing, food 
and other articles. They have a definite run, and have four 
distinct stages, which are the stage of incubation, or between 
receiving the infection and any active symptom of illness; 
the stage of invasion, or the period between the symptom of 
illness and the eruption; the stage of eruption, from the time 
the eruption appears until it disappears ; the stage of desquam- 
ation, or shedding the cuticle in the form of scales. 

Chicken-Pox* 

Chicken-pox is a mild disorder, rarely giving a child more 
inconvenience than a slight feeling of nausea or headache. 
The eruption appears in the form of small red spots unevenly 
distributed over the body; these rapidly change to watery 
vesicles surrounded by a pink ring. The vesicles are not of 
uniform size ; some are the size of a pin-head, others may be a 



268 DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 

quarter of an inch in diameter. The eruptive stage lasts three 
or four days, and is characterized by much itching. 

The child should partake of a mild, unstimulating diet, and 
have the bowels freely active; the itching may be allayed by 
warm baths and vaseline applied afterwards. 

It is most contagious in the last stage, when the scales are 
dropping, and can be carried away in the clothing of others. 

Measles. 

Measles is an eruptive disease very easily spread, because 
the contagion is strongest during the first, or incubation, 
stage, when people are least apt to guard against it. This 
stage lasts about twelve days, and only during the last two 
or three days is there a suggestion of cold with weak, watery 
eyes and stopped-up nose. Then there are headache, fever, sore 
throat, cough and catarrhal symptoms, generally accented. 
The eruption begins on the face near the roots of the hair, 
spreading downward, covering the whole body within twenty- 
four hours. The fever usually increases as the eruption comes 
out, and decreases with its disappearance. The catarrhal con- 
ditions also increase with the eruption. Care must be used 
in measles to prevent chill; if the blood is made to recede 
from the surface to the internal organs, bad complications 
will occur. But the sick-room should be well ventilated and 
have plenty of light. Sunshine and air are nature's disin- 
fectants. The room should be kept at a temperature be- 
tween sixty-five and seventy degrees, Fahrenheit, night and 
day. Let the patient have a simple diet of bread and butter, 
fruits and rice, with milk as a beverage, and plenty of water 
during the illness. Frequent spongings with tepid water 
are very grateful during the eruptive stage. Any complica- 
tions, such as difficult breathing, or increased feverishness, 
will call for medical skill. 



DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 269 

Scarlet Feven 

Measles and scarlet fever have some points in common that 
sometimes cause one to be mistaken for the other. But there 
are differences enough that they may easily be known apart. 
As, for instance, in scarlet fever there is rarely any cough, 
in measles the cough is troublesome; in measles the eyes are 
watery and eyelids swollen, in scarlet fever the eyes are dry; 
in measles the eruption is rough to the touch, in scarlet fever 
it is not. There is a difference in the color, too, measles being 
of a raspberry hue, while scarlet fever is what its name im- 
plies. The rash in measles begins about the face, in scarlet 
fever on the chest. In the latter a white line is left for a few 
seconds after pressing a finger over the point of eruption. 

Both diseases are contagious throughout their duration, but 
measles is most so in the stage of incubation, while scarlet 
fever is most so during desquamation. Both vary in severity 
in individual cases, but scarlet fever, of all infectious diseases, 
is most apt to assume a severe form, and therefore should 
be under medical supervision. Perfect sanitation is imperative, 
and upon attentive, intelligent nursing under the physician's 
direction the child's life depends, while, to prevent a spread 
of the contagion, child and nurse must be isolated for about 
six weeks, or until the diseased cuticle has been replaced by 
firm, new skin. 

Small-Pox, 

Small-pox is in the class of eruptive fevers, but public san- 
itation takes hold of the disease so quickly, it is not necessary 
here to give any but distinguishing features. The period of 
incubation is about twelve days ; then, as in other fevers, there 
is chilliness, headache, dizziness, high temperature, and a 
very marked pain in the center of the back and loins. The lat- 



270 DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 

ter, in connection with pain and tenderness in the stomach, and 
more or less nausea, would indicate small-pox. Especially so 
if there is epidemic small-pox. It is contagious from the 
varioloid that results from vaccination sometimes. A severe 
case of small-pox was that of a young lady who slept with 
a school-girl sister who had been vaccinated under the com- 
pulsory vaccination law. The inoculation caused so severe 
a fever it was communicated to the sister, who had small-pox. 
Varioloid is just as contagious as small-pox. It cannot be 
known at the beginning of the malady how severe it will be. 
It depends on the resisting powers of the individual. 

The stage of invasion lasts about three days, when the 
eruption begins to appear in the form of small, red pimples, 
which feel like shot under the skin. The face, neck and 
wrists are first covered, then the body, and finally the lower 
extremities. The pimples increase in size until about the 
eighth day, when suppuration begins. Scabs are then formed 
after another week, which, unless great care is used, leave 
marks or depressions over the skin. The fever commences 
to subside when the eruption begins. Before the eruption 
there is usually more or less delirium, so that a small-pox 
patient needs constant attendance. 

This being a very infectious disease, patients are always 
isolated and their clothing burned or disinfected. 

Mumps, 

Mumps and whooping-cough are two diseases which, while 
not eruptive, have a development similar to those that are. 
Mumps is a disease generated, Dr. Ruddock says, by peculiar 
conditions of the atmosphere which breed "a specific morbid 
miasm." It occurs most frequently in cold, damp weather. 
The stage of incubation is from eight to twenty-one days, 



DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. Ill 

during which time the patient has "that tired feeling." The 
stage of invasion begins with chill, headache, fever, and some- 
times nausea with vomiting. Local symptoms are manifested 
in pain and tenderness under the ear ; the parotid salivary 
glands swell, and continue to be sore and painful for a week 
or more. Sometimes but one gland is affected at a time, some- 
times it leaves one and goes to the other, lengthening out the 
progress of the disease. In severe cases the whole face pre- 
sents a tightly swollen appearance, but the skin over the gland 
is rarely discolored. A great deal of discomfort is caused by 
the inability to eat without pain. It is infectious throughout 
the disease, but most so during the stage of incubation. 

No active treatment is needed unless by exposure or want 
of care the disease is transferred to the testicles of the male 
or to the breasts of the female. These glands should then 
be treated with compresses to allay fever. The diet must be 
plain, the bowels freely open, and the patient kept in an even 
temperature. Always, in any disease, there must be care ex- 
ercised as to perfect sanitation. 

Whooping-Cough, 

Whooping-cough (or Pertussis) resembles the foregoing 
diseases in having distinct stages of incubation and invasion. 
The former is from a week to two weeks, and in the latter 
days expresses itself in the symptoms of a common cold; the 
stage of incubation begins with fever, loss of appetite, fretful- 
ness, etc. Cough is usually present from the beginning of 
invasion, and from that gains in severity. The spasmodic 
attacks of the cough occur with varying frequency, from 
three or four attacks during the twenty- four hours to an 
attack every hour of the twenty-four. Each paroxysm con- 
sists of a number of sudden, violent, short expiratory efforts, 



272 DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 

that the patient seems on the point of suffocation; then the 
deep-drawn inspiration assumes the sound of a whoop, which 
assures the temporary safety of the suffering one from loss 
of breath. The thick, ropy expectoration differs from the 
ordinary cough, and may signify the disease even though no 
"whoop" is heard. There is a gradual lessening of the num- 
ber of paroxysms until the cough is entirely gone. Recovery 
depends more or less upon the climate and season of the year. 
If there are no complications, ordinarily the disease will be 
over in from four to six weeks. Weather being damp or 
stormy and the patient confined, the cough may be persistent. 
The following is excellent to relieve the cough : 

Take one lemon and slice thin; add half-pint flaxseed, two 
ounces of honey, one quart water. 

Put on the stove and let simmer for four hours, but not boil. 
When cool, strain and add water enough to make a pint of 
liquid. Give a tablespoonful four times daily, and also after 
each severe paroxysm of the cough. It helps in the majority 
of cases, especially where care is used to perfect sanitation 
and to keeping the bowels open. 

Complications most likely to occur in whooping-cough are 
inflammation of the lungs, including bronchitis, convulsions 
and bleeding at the nose. 

To arrest excessive bleeding at the nose, let the child lie flat 
upon the back with head elevated. Apply cold water or ice 
to the forehead. In obstinate cases powder of gum Arabic 
blown into the nostrils with a quill will stop the discharge. 

Bronchitis* 

Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchial tubes. It is in- 
dicated at first by a dry, resonant cough, which may be accom- 
panied by a wheezing. When it has existed for a day or two 
the cough becomes softer and looser, and the wheezing is 



DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 273 

succeeded by moist gurgling sounds. Breathing is more dif- 
ficult lying down. The expectoration at first is trans- 
parent mucus, which becomes yellowish and more fluid-like 
as recovery approaches. 

Small children very seldom know how to expectorate, and 
the swallowing of mucus may cause some derangement of the 
digestive tract. 

Bathing the chest and back with a stimulating liniment 
helps to overcome the inflammation. If severe, apply poultices 
to the chest and back. After the poultices have been removed 
protect the lungs, front and back with flannel or cotton bat- 
ting. 

The most important remedial agent in treating bronchitis 
is to preserve an even temperature in the sick-room. The 
steam kettle is often advisable also. 

Diphtheria — Tonsilitis* 

Diphtheria is a disease always of serious import, so in- 
fectious in character that the patient ought immediately to 
be isolated with the nurse. It begins to be noticeable by 
chills, fever, quick pulse, husky voice, inflamed throat, and 
sometimes vomiting and diarrhea. Where there is bad sani- 
tation is the place where diphtheria will devastate. The local 
characteristic of this malady is a dry, swollen throat, sooner 
or later covered with glistening white patches. The mem- 
brane changes color as the disease progresses, to yellow, to 
gray, and even to black. 

Tonsilitis is a disease for which diphtheria is mistaken 
sometimes. Upon examination the tonsils will be seen to be 
enlarged ; very commonly the surfaces are dotted with white 
points, though occasionally spread over the tonsils. But this 
is limited to the tonsils, and can be removed by scraping with 



274 DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 

the handle of a spoon. In diphtheria the patches may cover 
not only the tonsils, but also the roof of the mouth, the hang- 
ing palate and the pharynx, and can never be separated by 
scraping. 

Diphtheria always requires skilled attention. Tonsilitis 
may be relieved by compresses or poultices to the throat; 
gargle or spray the throat with a solution of borax in rasp- 
berry leaf infusion. Inhale the vapor from a hot infusion of 
bayberry bark and vinegar. Keep the bowels open. 

Membranous Croup, 

Membranous croup is said by some to bear a relation to 
diphtheria, the two diseases having a resemblance. This 
disease begins as a hoarse cold, and its progress is so slow 
that one often does not suspect it until it is too late to save 
the child. The croupy attack usually awakens the child in 
the night. He is frightened and restless and cannot lie down 
with comfort. There must be no dalliance. Send for your 
most trusted doctor at once. In the meantime try to induce 
vomiting to relieve of the smothering mucous membrane. 
Administer an infusion of pleurisy root, with ginger and lobe- 
lia added, every fifteen minutes till vomiting occurs. After 
vomiting give it every half-hour to maintain relaxation; if 
suffocation seems imminent increase the dose and the fre- 
quency of administering. Have the bowels move freely. Put 
hot applications to the feet if the extremities get cold. Fat 
babies are most susceptible to this scourge — this terror of 
mothers. 

The Mother's Medicine Chest* 

Every mother should have her medicine chest for emergency 
cases, keeping it safely locked from the busy, inquiring fingers 
of little Miss Peep or Paul Pry. A knowledge of the uses 



DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 275 

of remedies which may be the "ounce of prevention" in saving 
a beloved life is worth while cultivating. In the medicine 
chest should be arnica, camphor, vaseline, ground mustard, 
ground flaxseed, turpentine, adhesive plaster, a roll of band- 
age not wider than two inches, a pair of scissors, etc. 

External applications are of much value and can be used 
with safety and benefit when one would not (and should not) 
trust one's self to administer internal medication. The diges- 
tive apparatus must be guarded against derangement, for upon 
it the whole body depends for nourishment. Mothers and 
nurses should be very chary of the "give-some-medicine" 
hobby in slight ailments. 

External applications have four purposes. First, to in- 
crease or diminish the temperature of the body; second, the 
maintenance of moisture; third, counterirritation ; fourth, ab- 
sorption of medication. 

The first is accomplished by means of hot-water bottles or 
bags of ice; the second by means of compresses, which are 
prepared by folds of cotton or linen dipped in water. These 
should be covered by dry cloths ; or better, by a piece of oiled 
silk, which retains the moisture better. 

Counterirritation relieves internal congestion by diverting 
a portion of the blood supply. Mustard plasters and stimulat- 
ing liniments are most commonly in use. A general rule for 
the application of a counterirritant is, the greater amount of 
surface covered the less amount of irritation should be set 
up. A mild mustard plaster, or a cornmeal and capsicum 
poultice, may be applied to the back and chest in inflammation 
of the chest, while a very strong one may be used for a pleurisy 
pain, or over a small portion of the skin. 

Generally two of the objects for which external applications 



276 DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. 

are used may be accomplished by a poultice Which furnishes 
both heat and moisture. 

A fountain syringe and hot-water bottle are important ad- 
juncts to maintaining the health of the family. These, in 
connection with the bath used intelligently and perfect sani- 
tation, will overcome the minor ailments and largely assist 
in curing those of a serious nature. 



PART II. 



CHAPTER IX. 




Afflictions Peculiar to Women. 

'HE generative system of womankind is not pe- 
culiarly sensitive and prone to derangement, as one 
would think upon superficial consideration. That 
so few women are free from "female weakness" is 
due to ignorance of the special anatomy and physiology 
of their nature. Through the lack of correct informa- 
tion the body is misused and abused, and no part of 
it more so than the sexual" system, through the oldtime theory 
of its degradation, as if the First Great Cause would select a 
medium of impurity to multiply and replenish the earth. 
Health and morals will be without self-support so long as the 
generative system has been disregarded, for it, in its true con- 
ception, is the basis of purity — of physical, mental and spiritual 
health. 

The foundations for female afflictions occur in girlhood very 
often, through dress, immoderation in exercise or lack of ex- 
ercise, and the secret bad habit known as self-abuse or mastur- 
bation. Corsets, tight dresses and heavy skirts curse a large 
majority of womankind, not only in youth, but in maturity 
as well, for the reason that they are ignorant of cause and 
effect. The ignorance prevents any degree of self-reliance, so 
that for -mental ease they must follow the fashion, be it what 
it may. 

277 



278 AFFLICTIONS PECULIAR TO WOMEN. 

The followers of Madame Grundy, after several years' de- 
votion, become unsexed. That is, the pressure upon the vital 
parts, including the generative system, prevents free circula- 
tion of the blood, which carries vitality to all parts of the 
body. This constant loss to any organ weakens and in time 
makes it useless. 

The Deadly Corset. 

A writer to Physical Culture says : "At thirteen or four- 
teen the corset begins its stifling and demoralizing influence 
physically, mentally and morally. It crushes in on the great 
vital center at the waistline; it crushes down on the organs of 
sex, displacing, weakening and deforming. This great 
nervous center, that depends upon the use of the muscular 
system at this part of the body for growth, strength and the 
perfect working of its functions, practically lies there in an 
abnormal, inactive state. The bones of the corset prevent 
the body from bending at the waist ; hence these muscles and 
the entire abdominal region gradually deteriorate in vigor. 

"With the organs of sex thus surrounded by weakened, 
flaccid muscles, in which the blood barely circulates, can one 
expect girls to develop that power and instinct of sex which 
is as much a part of true womanhood as light is a part of day? 
It is the instinct which gives them clear, definite ideas in the 
selection of husbands. It is the instinct that protects her 
and the man she marries from excesses that degrade, demor- 
alize, and at times destroy." 

Healthful Dress — Exercise. 

Healthful dress is not incompatible with beauty, as any 
who knows can testify, and street and visiting gowns can even 
follow the prevailing mode to a given extent. A woman who 



AFFLICTIONS PECULIAR TO WOMEN. 279 

has defects will, of course, upon adopting rational dress, try 
to develop her body where it is lacking. She whose waist 
has been compressed cannot stand or walk as gracefully as 
the unhampered woman, but no one is ever too old to learn, 
if the mind is fully determined. 

Moderation in recreation and labor will guard against the 
evils which result from inactivity or overexertion. While 
actively exercising let the muscles of the body be without re- 
strictions, so that full, deep breathing is possible. Waist 
breathing is natural breathing, the principle being the same, 
as in a pair of bellows. The floating ribs are lifted, the air 
inflates the lungs and expands the waist ; the ribs are lowered, 
the diaphragm becomes concave, and the air is forced out of 
the lungs. Conscious breathing develops lung capacity when 
the waist is free from restrictions. 

The destruction of health that comes from self-abuse is 
usually combined with the corset habit, together laying dread- 
ful waste. A young woman who can use her reason against 
the evils of conventional dress is pretty sure to save herself 
from other evils because of innate tendency toward perfect- 
ing herself. 

Pure Thought, Activity and Knowledge, 

To prevent self-abuse the mind must be filled with pure 
thoughts, which will crowd out the darkness of ignorance. 
Then the voice of passion must be recognized as a prompting 
to activity and the whole being kept busy. Idleness begets 
sensuousness, and sensuousness in turn robs one of the ability 
to do. 

Dr. Mary Wood- Allen says: "The youth entering upon 
puberty might have explained to him some of the mysteries 



280 AFFLICTIONS PECULIAR TO WOMEN. 

of life; probably it would not be incompatible with his age 
to explain to him that the life of the animal or vegetable 
kingdoms is continued through the power of reproduction 
with which the Creator endowed the whole produce of the 
earth. This power of reproduction or generation constitutes 
the very essence of life. To enable this vital function to be 
fulfilled every plant and every animal is furnished with organs 
of reproduction. As it has organs of respiration for breath- 
ing the air, organs of motion, organs of digestion for assimi- 
lating its food, so it has organs of reproduction for handing 
on the life it has received and reproducing itself in its off- 
spring. This is the most important function of the whole 
vital economy of every living form." 

Dr. Cordelia Green says : "The procreative organs are so 
arranged in both sexes that through the medium of the sym- 
pathetic division of the nervous system the brain and spinal 
cord — in fact, every element of soul and body — are in direct 
communication with them. With mental or physical excita- 
tion there is great exaltation of the action in the brain and 
spinal cord, with congestion of the procreative as well as the 
nervous centers. Next follows the movement downward to 
the pelvis of all the creative force, and the vital energy which 
is the source and sustainer of all human activities is given 
off and lost. 

"Disturbing brain influence is kept up quite as certainly 
by the states of thought and feeling as in any other way, and 
may become so constant as to produce the most exhaustive 
drainage of the strength." 

To eradicate excitement of the procreative system, body and 
mind must be kept clean and active. Food must be pure, 
simple and nourishing; the body must be free and untram- 
meled. The 'difficulty of overcoming self-abuse is because 



AFFLICTIONS PECULIAR TO WOMEN. 281 

of the exhaustion of will-power. But activity increases 
strength because activity is natural. When idleness is known 
to be dangerous as the cause of the abnormal appetite of pas- 
sion, and healthful action made a habit, cure will soon be 
effected. 

The disorders commonly known as female complaints are 
inflammations, ulcerations, abscesses, tumors, dropsy, cancer, 
catarrh, etc., which afflict the generative organs when they 
lose vigor from any cause; in addition to these are the dis- 
placements of the uterus. 

The Causes of Woman's Ailments. 

The causes of these disorders are many, but the chiefest 
of all will be found to be errors in dress, overexertion, or too 
frequent intercourse after marriage, which may or may not 
result in frequent child-bearing, miscarriage or abortion. Of 
the latter Dr. Stockham says: "It is the undesired and un- 
designed maternity that is revolting to the nature of woman. 
As long as men feel that they have a right to indulgence of 
the passions under law, no matter what the circumstances, 
what the condition of the wife, or the probabilities of ma- 
ternity, so long will the spirit of rebellion take possession of 
women and the temptation enter their souls to relieve them- 
selves of this unsought burden." And Dr. Delos F. Wilcox 
says : "What is to be said for the man who, for the sake of 
his individual satisfaction, or even for the sake of some slight 
increment of health, would pile his burdens upon the back of 
a woman already loaded down with the pains and dangers of 
menstruation, pregnancy and child-bearing? What is to be 
said of the young fellow who has wasted himself until, to 
alleviate his condition, he marries a healthy girl to shift upon 






282 AFFLICTIONS PECULIAR TO WOMEN. 

her and a family of children as much as he can of the penalties 
of his indiscretion ? What is to be said of the rugged husband 
who, for the sake of his 'health,' compels his wife to choose 
between chronic pregnancy and the discomforts, dangers and 
moral deadening attendant upon abortion and the use of ex- 
pedients to prevent conception ? The doctrine of man's 'neces- 
sity' was born of sensual indulgence, and is perpetuated by 
self-deception and overweening selfishness." 

There is another affliction, too, that comes from husbands 
who have indulged in indiscriminate intercourse. Many so- 
called womb disorders are but the result of impurity brought 
by husbands to wives whose amativeness cannot satisfy the 
demands made upon them. 

Dr. W. P. Gray, writing to The Medical Brief, says : "I 
can never treat a case of syphilis, whether of recent or con- 
stitutional form, without feelings of horror and regret. If 
the disease could be confined to the real guilty violator of the 
sexual laws of chastity it would not have such a destructive 
and contaminating influence on innocent motherhood and 
offspring. 

"I know a beautiful young woman, as pure as gold, who 
was wooed and won to the companionship of a syphilitic hus- 
band, only to give birth to a blasted child; both mother and 
child finally succumbed to this terrible disease of rottenness 
and filth. 

" * * * Why not require physicians to register such 
cases the same as any other contagious disease by contact or 
exposure ? 

"Even castration by law would not be too severe a punish- 
ment to such diseased persons who would marry other and 
innocent persons to spread and contaminate them with this 
loathsome disease." 



AFFLICTIONS PECULIAR TO WOMEN. 283 

Like should mate with like. An impure woman should 
not impose upon a pure man; vice versa. The status in the 
mind of each can be determined before marriage by follow- 
ing the suggestion of Delos F. Wilcox, Ph. D., who says: 
"No marriage has the promise of success unless the lovers are 
so conscious of the responsibility of the relation and so trustful 
of each other as to be willing to ignore the barriers of so- 
called propriety and reach an explicit understanding regard- 
ing the relations which shall obtain between them after mar- 
riage. The frank discussion of the sex-life and the duties of 
parenthood forms only the bare essential of the free com- 
munications of courtship." 

Of course, the relation cannot be entirely understood before 
marriage, but all possible light on the laws of nature (which 
are the laws of God) will prevent a ruinous exhaustion of 
their life-forces in the bonds of wedlock. 

Leucorrhea* 

A very common ailment of women is that known as leucor- 
rhea, whites, or catarrh of the uterus or vagina. In health the 
mucous membrane of the uterus and vagina is always kept 
moist by its own secretion. When this mucous fluid is se- 
creted in too great quantities it is the condition called 
leucorrhea. The discharge presents various shades and con- 
sistency. Physicians are able to tell from the nature of the 
discharge whether it comes from the vagina or uterus. When 
from the vagina it is generally a light creamy-looking fluid; 
that from the neck of the uterus is a tenacious, albuminous 
fluid and rather copious; from the lining membrane of the 
uterus the discharge is of an alkaline reaction, profuse, and 
generally precedes and follows menstruation; in ulceration of 






284 AFFLICTIONS PECULIAR TO WOMEN. 

the mouth of the womb the discharge is profuse and semi- 
purulent. The disease is not usually accompanied by pain, 
but is never long-continued without producing derangement 
of the general health through exhaustion. The constant drain 
will, if not checked, result in nervous irritability, hysteria, dif- 
ficult respiration, uterine derangement, and even consumption. 

Greatest attention to cleanliness must be observed. Every 
young woman who has had a menstrual flow should be taught 
the use of the vaginal tube of the syringe. A syringe is as 
necessary an article of the toilet as soap, towels, combs and 
brushes. If it is "against nature" to use the syringe, the 
same argument holds in the use of the other articles human- 
kind has invented according to its needs. 

Mr. Edward B. Warman, in the Ladies' Home Journal, 
said : ''Internal baths when properly taken are often more 
essential than external baths. The four avenues of elimina- 
tion must remain unobstructed if perfect health is to be ob- 
tained or retained." 

The vaginal douche should be a part of the daily bath, and 
flushing the colon should occur twice or three times a week 
before retiring. The odor of the bowel passages should be an 
argument to persons of ordinary intelligence for giving the 
lower bowel a regular bath. As a prophylactic no one item 
of care of the person will tell more strongly for health. 

For the cure of leucorrhea hygienic regulations must be 
observed. If the urine is scalding, drink flaxseed tea or an 
infusion of marshmallow root. As a vaginal injection use 
twice a day one ounce of the following in a pint of lukewarm 
water : 

White fluid hydrastics, 2 ounces. 

Borax, y 2 ounce. 

Distilled witch hazel extract, 1 pint. 



AFFLICTIONS PECULIAR TO WOMEN. 285 

Inflammation may affect any or all parts of the generative 
system ; it is the more serious when all are involved, of course. 
It is ovaritis when the ovaries are inflamed ; salpingitis when 
the Fallopian tubes are inflamed; metritis when the 
uterus is wholly inflamed; vaginitis when the vagina is 
inflamed. The disorder is the same in greater or less degree, 
and the symptoms are much the same, varying only in loca- 
tion. There are stinging, burning sensations, sometimes sharp 
flitting pains, a swelling and tenderness of the affected part; 
chill, followed by fever, may be the first symptom of the ail- 
ment, and headache a constant attendant. When any degree 
of inflammation becomes chronic the nervous system is more 
or less deranged in sympathy. 

Severe cases will call for medical attendance, as there are 
dangers from complications. Mild cases are relieved by first 
flushing the colon. The lower bowel should first be emptied 
of the impacted faeces ; then the colon be filled with hot water. 
This relieves the congestion on three sides of the generative 
system. (Notice the position of the ascending, transverse 
and descending sections of the colon.) It should be retained 
as long as possible. One quart of water may be retained at 
first ; at other treatments the quantity may be increased. 

Quietude in bed is essential; apply a stimulating liniment 
over the abdomen and use a hot-water bottle to the feet. This 
equalizes the circulation. 

Where the vaginal canal is inflamed, as it may be from too 
frequent or too violent intercourse, or from the use of pessa- 
ries, the hot water injections must be used to the vagina. A 
continuous stream of hot water will drive the blood from the 
parts and for the time relieve the inflammation. Remove the 
cause, cleanse the bowels regularly, and if the vaginal dis- 



286 AFFLICTIONS PECULIAR TO WOMEN. 

charge is offensive add a few drops of myrrh to the vaginal 
injection, which should be used at least twice daily. 

Displacement of the Uterus. 

Displacements of the uterus are rather tedious to cure, but 
the chief ingredient to that end is a sincere desire of the suf- 
ferer to be cured. There is no remedy taken internally that 
will cure displacements. Rest and a simple diet, with exer- 
cises for strengthening the abdominal muscles, are the means 
of cure. 

The different uterine displacements are known as prolapsus, 
retroversion, anteversion, and the flexions, or where the uterus 
bends upon itself. 

The uterus is supported by eight ligaments and by the mus- 
cular strength of the vaginal walls. When all of these sup- 
ports yield there is prolapsus or falling of the womb, when 
the organ descends into the vagina, and often through the 
valva, and becomes external. The relaxation of the uterine 
supports is, of course, due to debility from some cause. Often 
the cause is found to be in a too early getting up after tedious 
or severe labor, when the parts have been very much weakened 
or lacerated. 

The cure will consist in occupying at night a bed elevated 
at the foot at least eight inches higher than the head. Rest 
during the day at least an hour in the morning and an hour in 
the afternoon, with the feet and hips elevated. This may be 
effected by placing an inverted chair upon the bed or lounge, 
making it comfortable by means of padding with pillows or 
bed covers. This uses the law of gravitation to replace the 
uterus. Avoid any heavy labor when upon the feet. While 
in the lying position practice waist breathing, as by that means 



AFFLICTIONS PECULIAR TO WOMEN. 287 

the abdomial muscles are exercised. Dr. G. R. Taylor, treat- 
ing upon this subject, says: "Increase the pump-like action 
of the chest, and it will be found that the displaced pelvic 
viscera will return to their normal position." 

Is it necessary to remind any woman who has suffered from 
falling of the womb not to wear corsets, heavy skirts, etc., to 
press the viscera out of position again? One who wants to 
be cured and stay cured will not repeat the aggravating 
causes. 

Astringent vaginal washes assist in restoring tone to the 
vaginal muscles, and are much used in the treatment of this 
disorder. The following is good: Use as an injection twice 
daily a pint of tepid water in which has been dissolved one 
and a half teaspoonfuls of powdered alum. Always in using 
medicated washes the parts should first be cleansed of un- 
healthy discharges. 

In retroversion the uterus is turned or bent backwards; 
pain resulting from this displacement will be a prolonged 
and sickening ache in the lower part of the back. The posi- 
tion of the uterus will aggravate any tendency to constipa- 
tion. Here the flushing treatment will be especially valuable 
in that it cleanses the colon, and by the dilation of its walls 
with water tends to push the uterus back to position. The 
chest-and-knee position favors a return of the organ to place. 
The patient kneels upon the knees and chest so that the hips 
are highest. When the organ is returned to position she 
must then practice the same methods as for curing pro- 
lapsus. 

In anteversion the body of the uterus is thrown forward 
against the bladder. There is a sense of fullness in the pelvis, 
of weight and bearing down, accompanied by pain in the 
rectum and perineum ; frequent desire to pass water, and partial 



288 AFFLICTIONS PECULIAR TO WOMEN. 

inability to do so. The uterus can be returned to position 
by resting upon the. back with hips elevated, and by using the 
same treatment as for prolapsus. 

In any female disease the return to health is greatly as- 
sisted by cheerfulness, mental activity, deep breathing, bath- 
ing and friction of the skin, and the internal bath. 

Ulceration* 

Ulceration is usually to be seen at the neck of the uterus 
or on the lining membrane, and is induced by impurity of the 
blood determining to a weakly uterus. It may be of scrofu- 
lous or syphilitic origin, or other less virulent impurity may 
induce it. It is attended with an offensive discharge, and 
there is much stinging pain in that region. Inflammation 
always attends ulceration, so the treatment is as in that dis- 
order. The impurity in the blood may be assisted out of the 
body through vapor baths, pure food without stimulating 
drinks, flushing the colon, and by taking a blood purifier such 
as the following: 

Yellow dock, l / 2 pound. 
Bittersweet bark, % pound. 
Figwort, 2 ounces. 
American ivy bark, 2 ounces. 

Grind together and macerate for forty-eight hours in one 
pint each of alcohol and water. Strain and sugar to make two 
quarts. Dose— -One or two teaspoonfuls after meals. 

Ulceration of the womb may lead to cancer, which is a 
malady hard to overcome. 



AFFLICTIONS PECULIAR TO WOMEN. 289 

Intercourse should be avoided. Disease may be imparted 
to the male, and excitation is bad for the female suffering 
from this complaint. 

Abscesses, tumors, dropsy and cancer will require skilled 
treatment. (For same see "A Physician in the House," by 
J. H. Greer, M. D.) 

The Menopause, or "Change of Life/' 

Any disease of whatever nature can be greatly modified by 
hygienic regulations, by keeping the four eliminative processes 
active, by free, untrammeled dress, pure food, pure water and 
pure air in abundance. 

Women who have pinned their faith to the doctors and 
medicine alone will be found to be dragging through many 
years of invalidism, with physicians' fees preponderating. 

The best cure for any disorder is in its prevention. There- 
fore, be moderate in all things. 

The menopause cannot properly be classified as a disease 
any more than pregnancy or menstruation. It comes when 
the childbearing period is at an end. One writer says : 
"Ordinarily all the sufferings and ailments incident to this 
period can be accounted for from some ovarious or uterine 
disease, dyspepsia, or other deviation from health. Irritation 
or congestion of the ovaries, more than any other cause, de- 
cides the numerous symptoms of the climacteric." 

The childbearing period lasts from thirty to thirty-five 
years normally. It is sometimes prolonged beyond that time, 
sometimes cut short. 

The beginning of the menopause is marked by irregularity 
in menstruation. The periods may be absent for several 
months, or there may be frequent .and profuse flowing. In 



290 AFFLICTIONS PECULIAR TO WOMEN. 

some women these conditions alternate. The irregularity con- 
tinues on an average of three years. Some of the pathological 
conditions of the change of life are hot flashes, chill, profuse 
perspiration, capricious appetite, heartburn, sleeplessness, pain 
at the base of the brain and down the spine. Uterine hem- 
orrhage sometimes occurs, and tumors, cancer, polypi, etc., are 
of more frequent occurrence than at any other period of life. 

Knowing that this is a critical period of life, women ap- 
proaching the menopause should prepare to give the body 
necessary attention, while not allowing the mind to dwell too 
continually upon self. The system should be fortified with 
nutritious food and the four eliminating avenues kept in ac- 
tivity. If internal cleansings have not been the rule, they 
should be begun and adhered to during the change. 

For hot flashes, heartburn and sleeplessness disordered di- 
gestion will be found to be the cause, in which case use the 
stomach bath every morning before eating. This consists of 
drinking a pint of water as hot as can be taken. Hot air 
baths are especially valuable during this period ; by this means 
the millions of pores of the skin will bear outward much im- 
purity which will cause painful manifestation if left in the 
system. Fleshy women can hardly use water too freely; thin 
persons should be more sparing. . 

At puberty the ovaries enlarge ; so when menstruation ceases 
and the organs no longer have so much work to do they 
shrink and become small. The uterus diminishes in size, 
likewise the vagina and mammary glands. But a woman 
can be just as healthy at the menopause as she was at puberty, 
and be more sweet and feminine and more truly enjoy life 
than in girlhood. 

When menstruation is encouraged as long as possible, the 
tendency to uterine growths is materially lessened. It is 



AFFLICTIONS PECULIAR TO WOMEN. 291 

also preferable that there be little or no intercourse during the 
change, to avoid congestion of the parts. 

Sometimes the secretions from the uterus and vagina are 
acrid and cause external soreness, in which case a little borax 
or baking soda should be added to the water for vaginal irri- 
gation. A compress over the abdomen at night will reduce 
the temperature where there is congestion. 

Finally, keep your soul youthful by keeping abreast of the 
times and thinking and planning to be well. As Prentice 
Mulford says : "If you expect to grow old and keep in your 
mind an image or construction of yourself as old and de- 
crepit, you will assuredly be so. ,, 



PART II. 




CHAPTER X. 

What Determines the Sex of Offspring. 

HE question, "What decides the sex of offspring ?" 
is one of peculiar interest. Closely connected as it is 
with the origin of life and the influence of environ- 
ment, the subject presents much that is of scientific 
importance and has therefore been the cause of much study 
and speculation. It is of particular interest to parents who de- 
sire to learn what regulates the sex of their children and 
whether the determining conditions are such as lie within their 
own control. 

Many theories have been advanced to explain the intricacies 
of sex origin, but only recent investigations, by reason of trust- 
worthy and comprehensive research and careful observation, 
have approached to definite conclusions. 

Dr. Eli F. Brown, in his book "Sex and Life," treats this 
subject exhaustively, and his conclusions are eminently worthy 
of respect. Undoubtedly, he says, there are certain natural 
causes, operating in obedience to immutable vital laws, which 
decide the sex of offspring. In the human being, as in all of the 
higher classes of animals, this decision is reached at such an 
early period in the development of the embryo that observa- 
tions for ascertaining the causes and conditions which make the 
young being become male or female are especially difficult. In 
some of the lower orders of animal life the development of 
the sex is delayed until a much later date in the life of the em- 

292 



THE SEX OF OFFSPRING. 293 

bryo, and, in certain of these cases, the decision as to the male- 
ness or femaleness is not established until the animal has lived 
for a considerable time as a separate individual. For these 
reasons, observations for ascertaining the causes for the dif- 
ference in sex are much more simple and satisfactory in the 
lower beings of the vital scale than among the higher classes 
of animals, in which, as has been said, the conditions are intri- 
cate and the operations are obscured by their early occurrence 
in embryonic life. 

The higher animals do not appear to be in any way excep- 
tional in the operations of the laws which govern their exist- 
ence, and in accordance with which they have their develop- 
ment. All animate creation, including every phase of such be- 
ing, lives, grows and reproduces its kind in obedience to the 
same general vital laws. So true is this that there is every rea- 
son to suppose that the causes and conditions which operate in 
the lower orders of animals in producing differences in the sex 
of offspring act in the same general manner in producing like 
differences of sex in the offspring of higher animals, including 
the human being. By observations made upon the inferior 
animals, it is possible to discover certain tendencies in sex-de- 
termination. These tendencies may be traced with similar re- 
sults into the superior orders, and serve to indicate the rela- 
tions of cause and effect to be watched for and recognized in 
sex decision, even in the human family. It is from such study 
and experimentation, such careful observation and inference, 
that the most trustworthy explanations have been produced of 
the origin and determination of sex. 

Sex Partially Within Parental Control. 

It is proper, however, to state that, while much is now defi- 
nitely known in this regard, the whole has not been ascertained. 
What has been fairly ascertained to be true does not place the 



294 THE SEX OF OFFSPRING. 

matter of the control of the sex of offspring within the easy 
command of parents; it does establish the fact, nevertheless, 
that the regulation of sex is within their partial control, at 
least. 

As ought to be supposed, the production of the two condi- 
tions, male and female — on which difference in individuals the 
continuance of life depends — is, in great measure, self-regu- 
lating, based upon such economic laws of supply and demand 
in nature as are in accord with the utility of sex and the wel- 
fare of the race. Evidently, nature must maintain a reasonable 
balance between the sexes. If from any cause the tendency were 
to produce males in excess, other causes must counteract such 
a tendency by the production of females, and, in like manner, 
any excess of females must be offset by corresponding tend- 
encies to produce males. Such appears to be the case. It would 
be disastrous if the individuals of either sex were largely to 
outnumber those of the opposite sex, and it would be absolutely 
fatal for either sex to cease to be produced. It will be found, 
therefore, that the regulation of sex is a matter of such concern 
that its decision is not left to the whim, caprice or carelessness 
of the parent, but is founded so deep in the conditions and in- 
terests of life that it is quite beyond human agency to alter, 
even in individual cases. It is possible, however, to recognize 
the general laws which tend to regulate sex, and possible, also, 
by conformity to their operations, to realize a desired result 
through their natural agency. 

Each individual among higher animals, whether male or 
female, begins as an impregnated ovum in the mother's body. 
Any such ovum contains elements of constitution from both 
of its parents. In the earliest existence of this impregnated 
ovum, there is a season of sexual indifference, or indecision, in 
which the embryo is both male and female, having the char- 



THE SEX OF OFFSPRING. 295 

acteristic rudiments of each sex, only indifferently manifested. 
In this stage, the embryo is susceptible of being influenced by 
external conditions to develop more strongly in the one or the 
other direction and thus become distinctly and permanently 
male or female. It is evident that this is the season in the de- 
velopment of the individual in which influencing conditions 
and causes must operate in deciding its sex, although it is 
possible in some of the lower animals to alter the tendency of 
sex in the embryo from one sex to the other, even after it has 
been quite definitely determined. 

Sex Tendency in the Embryo* 

It is well established, in fact, that differences in sex do not 
come from a difference in the ova themselves; that is, there 
is not one kind of ova from the female which becomes female, 
while other ova become male, for it is possible to alter the 
tendency toward the one sex or the other after the ovum has 
been fertilized and the embryo has begun its career of develop- 
ment. This possible change in sex tendency in the embryo also 
proves that sex is not decided by a difference in the sperma- 
tozoa; that is, some of the sperm cells from the father are not 
male, while others are female, in their constitution. 

It is incorrect to suppose, as has been held by some theorists, 
that one testicle gives rise to male sperms and the other to 
female sperm cells, for both male and female offspring have 
been produced from the same male parent after one testicle or 
the other has been removed. The same is true in cases in which 
either ovary has been removed from the mother; that is, male 
and female offspring are produced from mothers in whom 
either ovary has been removed. In like manner, the sex of 
offspring is shown not to be materially affected by the com- 
parative vigor of the parents; thus a stronger father than 



296 THE SEX OF OFFSPRING. 

mother does not necessarily produce one sex to the exclusion 
of the other. These negative decisions are important because 
they simplify the solution of the problem of sex-determination, 
by excluding, more or less fully, various causes which have 
been supposed to operate quite forcibly in deciding the sex of 
offspring. 

Controlling: Influences in Determining; Sex* 

Some of the more positive agencies that enter into the de- 
termination of sex are found ( i ) in the influence of nutrition 
upon the embryo during its indifferent stage of sexual de- 
velopment, and (2) in the constitution and general condition 
of the mother before and during the early stages of pregnancy. 
These two factors appear to enter more fully than any others 
into the decision of the sex of offspring, and deserve the great- 
est consideration in this treatise. The influence of food in sup- 
plying the embryo with nourishment for its development is, 
perhaps, the most potent of these determining causes. 

The effects of nutrition are shown in suggestive manner in 
some of the lower orders of animal life, in which the condi- 
tions and results are readily observed. The classes of animals 
most satisfactory for experiment in this connection are such 
as pass through different phases of individual life before reach- 
ing the highest and most fully developed stage. The insects 
afford an illustration of these differing stages of individual 
development : ( 1 ) the egg is perfected and deposited by the 
fly; (2) this egg hatches into a grub or worm-like animal; 

(3) this grub, when fully grown, enters the chrysalis form and 
undergoes such complete reorganization that it comes forth as 

(4) the complete fly. Here are four complete and distinct 
stages, during which periods the sexual function and develop- 
ment are more or less delayed until the preparation of the in- 



THE SEX OF OFFSPRING. 297 

sect for its fourth stage, and the tendencies toward one sex or 
the other may be repeatedly changed from one to the other, 
during the earlier stages of the individual, by the influence of 
more or less favorable vital conditions. Frogs present another 
series of changes, which make them a favorite means of exper- 
imentation ; thus the frog perfects and deposits ( i ) the spawn ; 
this spawn hatches into (2) the tadpole, which, after a season 
of development, and life as a tadpole, gradually becomes trans- 
formed into the highest phase of the individual's life, (3) the 
frog. Here are three forms of life in the same animal, quite 
distinct from one another, each being preparatory to the next 
in the scale. Complete sexual function is necessary only in 
the highest or frog stage, and during the tadpole stage sexual 
development is more or less indifferent, the tendency during 
the life and growth of the tadpole to become distinctly and per- 
manently either male or female being dependent in great meas- 
ure on surrounding circumstances, especially so upon the in- 
fluence of food, whether it be abundant and nutritious or the 
reverse. 

Experiments Upon the Lower Animals* 

Experiments upon frogs and insects tend to establish the 
truth of the doctrine that abundant nourishment during the 
stages of sexual indifference inclines to produce femaleness, 
while want of proper nutrition during these formative or pre- 
paratory stages inclines to produce maleness in the individual. 
Some of the most significant experiments for testing the in- 
fluence of food in deciding sex are those made upon tadpoles. 
A notable case is described by Prof. Geddes,* from the ex- 
periments of E. Yung, in which, he says, "from the experi- 

# 

*The Evolution of Sex, by Prof. Patrick Geddes. 



298 THE SEX OF OFFSPRING. 

ence and carefulness of the observer, these striking results are 
entitled to great weight." 

It appears that, in this remarkable experiment, of three hun- 
dred tadpoles, when left to themselves, the ratio of females to 
males was as 57 to 43. These were divided into three lots of 
100 each and fed upon different kinds of nutritious diet to as- 
certain the change in sex-tendency due to such food. It should 
be remembered in this connection that the tadpole represents 
the stage of sexual indifference in the life of the young frog, 
and that external conditions may alter sex-tendencies during 
such period of sexual instability. The first set, in which the 
original ratio of femaleness to maleness was 54 to 46, were 
fed abundantly on beef, from which cause the ratio altered so 
that it became 78 females to 22 males. The second portion, in 
which the ratio of sex in the beginning was 61 females to 39 
males, were fed upon fish, by whose more nutritive effects the 
ratio was raised to 81 females to 19 males. The third section, 
in which the ratio of sex stood 56 females to 44 males, were 
fed upon a still more nutritious diet, that of frogs, whereby the 
proportion of females was elevated to the astonishing ratio of 
92 females to 8 males. Each feature of this experiment is sug- 
gestive in indicating that a rich diet, abundant nutrition, favor- 
able conditions for life, during the season of sexual indiffer- 
ence in the embryo, tend to develop femaleness. In the above 
experiment, no less than two out of the three of all the tadpoles 
which were at first male in their tendencies became female. 

Bees — An Interesting: Example. 

Another of the most interesting and suggestive examples of 
the effect of diet in deciding the sex of an. embryo is presented 
in the case of bees. In keeping with other insects, the bee de- 
velops through different stages of individual life. The eggs 



THE SEX OF OFFSPRING. 299 

are formed and deposited by the mother-bee; these hatch into 
larvae, which, by proper growth, development and transforma- 
tion, become bees. Three kinds of bees, the queen, the work- 
ers and the drones, are produced from the larvae; they exist 
together as the related members of the colony, and perform 
the various duties of the swarm within the hive. The queen 
is the perfect female, the only one of all the number capable of 
being the mother of a generation of offspring. She is the larg- 
est and most fully developed, and, by reason of her larger 
size, her finer appearance, and her superiority in other respects, 
is fitly recognized as the queen. The workers are the small, 
active bees, through whose diligence and sagacity the honey is 
collected, the comb is fashioned, the young are fed and the 
colony is protected from dangerous intruders. These workers 
are imperfect females, incapable of producing eggs. The drones 
are the male bees ; they originate from unfertilized eggs of the 
queen, and perform no other function in the life of the colony 
than that of fertilizing the ova of the queen. They live a com- 
paratively short and inactive life, and, having performed their 
special sexual, function, they are stung to death by the workers 
and thrown out of the hive. 

The facts of greatest interest in regard to this curiously 
organized colony, or family, are such as concern the differ- 
ences between the queen, whose motherhood is complete, and 
the imperfect female workers. The queen bee is produced 
from a fertilized egg which is deposited in a cell sufficiently 
large to admit of the superior growth of the larva which 
hatches from it; this larva is fed with "royal diet." This 
"royal diet" consists of the most nutritious and stimulating 
bee-food, gathered and preserved for this special purpose of 
serving as the nourishment for the baby queen. By reason of 
these more favorable conditions of room and food, the larva 



300 THE SEX OF OFFSPRING. 

becomes perfected in its development so that it finally becomes 
the queen in size, appearance and function. The workers are 
produced in like manner from fertilized eggs, but the larvae 
from these eggs are restricted to smaller cells for their growth, 
and limited to the ordinary bee-food. The result is they are 
dwarfed in size, and, though female insects, they are incapable 
of performing the crowning function of the female — they pro- 
duce no eggs. 

The Effect of "Royal Diet/' 

Now, it so happens at times that some of the larvae, which 
would otherwise become workers, receive by accident crumbs 
of "royal diet," and such is the effect of this richer food upon 
the larvae which receive it that they grow to an extra size, and 
may even become fertile workers. Certain it is, too, that the 
nurse-bees often select larvae which would otherwise become 
the dwarfed female workers, and feed these larvae fully upon 
the "royal diet." By such means, these well-fed larvae become 
young queens. Thus it is that "royal diet" determines that a 
larva, fed upon such food, shall become a queen, fully endowed 
with motherhood, while the larva nourished by the ordinary 
bee-food produces a sterile worker. 

In this case it appears that fully developed femaleness is 
due wholly to the effect of an abundance of suitable food and 
other favoring conditions during the season of sexual indif- 
ference which exists in the larva, and that the fate of the fe- 
male embryo, whether it shall become a queen or a worker, is 
determined within the first few days of its larval life, by the 
effects of the kind and degree of nourishment it receives. 

This is in exact accord with the results of the experiment 
already described in regard to the effect of food in determining 
the sex of frogs, and tends quite forcibly and conclusively to 



THE SEX OF OFFSPRING. 301 

establish the principle that favorable conditions of food and 
opportunities for growth tend to produce the high degree of 
development in the embryo which results in a female off- 
spring. It is fair, too, to infer that femaleness, with its won- 
derful capacity for maternity, is a "higher phase of develop- 
ment, due to and determined by superior conditions of em- 
bryonic life. 

What is here given in regard to bees is true in the same 
sense with other kinds of insects. Thus caterpillars which 
are poorly fed before entering the phase of the chrysalis come 
forth as male butterflies, while such as are abundantly fed, 
and which enter the chrysalis in a high state of development, 
become female butterflies. 

The Higher Orders of Animal Life* 

In the higher animals, the mammals, in which class the 
human being is included, the embryo is retained within the 
mother's body until it has developed into a being like herself 
and is ready to be born alive and be nourished by her milk. 
The changes in its growth, corresponding to the different 
stages through which the insect and frog pass, are performed 
in the hidden conditions of her body ; hence, it is not possible 
to observe so definitely the effects of favorable or unfavorable 
vital conditions in determining the sex of offspring from the 
mammal. Following the indications derived from experi- 
ments with the lower animals in which it is convenient to 
watch the effects of certain external causes, it is possible to 
observe with a fair degree of certainty the influence of food, 
temperature, shelter, comfort and quietude, in deciding the sex 
of the young of the upper divisions of the vital scale. Results 
of interesting character are reported from experiments made 
upon sheep and other mammals. 



302 THE SEX OF OFFSPRING. 

Experiments upon Domestic Animals* 

A collection of three hundred ewes was divided into two 
I lots, of one hundred and fifty each. The first division were 
extremely well-fed, and were attended by young rams; as a 
result, the sex of the lambs produced was in the ratio of 60 
females to 40 males. The second division were sparingly fed 
and were associated with old rams, in which case the ratio 
of sex of offspring was 40 females to 60 males. It was also 
a noticeable fact that the heavier ewes, such as showed fuller 
development and the happier effects of favorable conditions of 
life, produced chiefly female offspring. 

Other experiments of similar kind made upon domestic ani- 
mals tend also to establish the conclusion that with the supe- 
rior animals, as well as with the inferior orders, favorable 
conditions of life for the mother, as regards food, shelter, 
temperature, quietude and contentment, tend to produce fe- 
maleness in her offspring, and that reverse conditions tend to 
produce maleness. 

The Female the Superior Organism* 

In order to produce offspring, a mother must be properly 
developed in sexual function. Undoubtedly, female parents 
make a more serious productive sacrifice in bearing young 
than is required of male parents. To be capable of such sac- 
rifice as is demanded of the mother, and thereby be fully 
female, requires a high degree of vital development of the 
embryo and offspring that is to become a female. In order 
to establish its sex as a female, correspondingly superior con- 
ditions for development are necessary during the formative 
period in which its sex is decided. In this connection, the 
female appears as the superior organism, complete in its own 
endowment for individual life and capable of reproducing its 



THE SEX OF OFFSPRING. 303 

kind, needing- at most only the fertilizing element from the 
male, and, in many of the lower orders of life, not even requir- 
ing a fertilizing germ, but fully competent of itself to produce 
its young. "Royal diet" for the larva of the bee determines 
the complete motherhood of the queen-bee. The best external 
conditions for the embryo frogs decide the greatest ratio of 
femaleness in adult frogs. The most favorable conditions of 
ewes during the season of conception and early pregnancy 
beget the largest number of female lambs. In general, it is 
reasonable to infer that the higher sexual organization which 
constitutes the female is to be attained in the greatest number 
of cases by embryos which have superior vital conditions dur- 
ing the formative sexual period. 

Some Significant Facts. 

Among human beings, some facts of general observation 
become significant in the light of the foregoing inferences. 
After epidemics, after wars, after seasons of privation and 
distress, the tendency is toward a majority of male births. 
On the other hand, abundant crops, low prices, peace, content- 
ment and prosperity tend to increase the number of females 
born. Mothers in prosperous families usually have more 
girls; mothers in families of distress have more boys. Large, 
well-fed, fully developed, healthy women, who are of con- 
tented and passive disposition, generally become mothers of 
families abounding in girls; mothers who are small or spare 
of flesh, who are poorly fed, restless, unhappy, overworked, 
exhausted by frequent child-bearing, or who are reduced by 
other causes which waste their vital energies, usually give 
birth to a greater number of boys. 

As a general proposition, the foregoing facts and inferences 
tend to establish the truth of the doctrine with women, that, 



304 THE SEX OF OFFSPRING. 

the more favorable the vital conditions of the mother during 
the period in which the sex of her offspring is being deter- 
mined, the greater the ratio of females she will bear ; the less 
favorable her vital conditions at such time, the greater will be 
her tendency to bear males. 

That many apparent exceptions occur does not disprove the 
general tendency here maintained. Moreover, it is impossible 
to know in all cases what were the conditions of the mother's 
organism at the time in which her child was in its delicate 
balance between predominant femaleness and maleness ; else 
many cases which seemingly disprove the proposition would be 
found to be forcible illustrations of its truth. Still further, 
it is probable that other causes besides those here mentioned 
act with greater or less effect in determining the sex of Off- 



spring- 



Woman's Rank in the Scale of Vital Being, 

The doctrine herewith deduced that the female offspring is 
the more highly organized, though differing from notions cur- 
rent in the minds of some persons who are imbued with the 
idea that the male is the perfect type, is in accord with the plan 
of reproduction of vital bodies throughout the entire world of 
living beings. In the plant kingdom, that for which all other 
parts of the plant exist, that to which all other portions are 
subservient, is the pistil, or female organ of reproduction, a 
part which it is the crowning function of the plant to perfect, 
a part which is the most complex, most highly organized and 
most precious. In the lower orders of animals, the female 
organism usually shows its superiority in its greater size and 
fuller development, as well as in its capacity for producing 
young beings. The ability to reproduce perfect beings as off- 
spring is of itself the strongest evidence of the superiority of 







'/<Oi/' / • ■ 



RUTH— Ch. Landelle. 




AWAKENING— N. Sichel. 



THE SEX OF OFFSPRING. 305 

the female. Among insects, birds and mammals, the female 
is usually of larger size, and, though often less attractive in 
appearance and less demonstrative in habit, she is more passive 
in disposition, more complacent and happy in temper. While 
greater stature and greater muscular development often ac- 
company the more pugnacious and restless spirit of the male, 
such differences do not necessarily argue that the male is the 
more highly organized or more nearly perfect. These differ- 
ences, when they exist, are in great measure due to the fact 
that the animal is male, and, having less organic sacrifice to 
make in other respects, has more muscular development, which 
is increased by his more restless and unsatisfied constitution. 

As has been said, the capability of producing offspring is a 
sufficient evidence of perfect organization in the mother, and 
shows, too, that she possesses a requisite surplus of vital en- 
ergy and organic power to endow her child with life, both of 
body and soul. That woman possesses higher nervous sensi- 
bility is evidenced in her finer delicacy and refinement, in her 
acuteness to mental impression, and in her keener and surer 
moral sense. Man is less complex. He makes less sexual sac- 
rifice. He is not compelled to hold in reserve a surplus en- 
ergy sufficient to equip a new life with being. He has more to 
spend in his own muscle, brain and brawn. He may, there- 
fore, excel in strength, in stature and in intellectual attain- 
ment; but such features of excellence are not necessarily an 
evidence that his organism is more complex, more refined, 
more perfect than woman's. Greater muscular and intellec- 
tual power accord with the restless life of the male, and fit him 
for dominion over brute force, but such endowments pale in 
significance when contrasted with the exquisite sensibility of 
woman, whereby she is fitted for maternity, gifted with a 
creative art and power capable of making men and women. 



306 THE SEX OF OFFSPRING. 

Woman's motherhood, whereby the race is continued and its 
higher destiny is evolved, caps and completes the exalted rank 
maintained by the female element throughout the entire scale 
of vital being. 



PART III 



CHILD-CULTURE 



THE PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION, TRAINING 
AND CHARACTER-BUILDING. 



" The truth shall make them free." 



PART III 




CHAPTER I. 

The Foundation of Moral Uprightness. 

%TERLING worth in character is all that is really 
of importance. Given that, a child to maturity 
grown is equipped for encountering all the obstacles 
\W/ of life,, which are, after all, designed by the great 
Cause for the purpose of developing him. 

The beginning of child-culture lies, of course, with parents, 
that the child is desired, designed and loved into life. Then 
in pre-natal culture. And when old enough and the impelling 
power within sends the small one on the quest for knowledge, 
to meet him with candid honesty in answer to all his ques- 
tions. Honesty has been said to include all the other virtues. 
Certainly eager little ones should meet nothing else in the 
home. 

Confidence between parents and children must begin in in- 
fancy, and should never cease. The child will have its own 
life to live, its own powers to realize ; but the relation parents 
and children bear to each other makes companionship be- 
tween them of especial value. No confidence from the unfold- 
ing child should be met with ridicule or coldness. 

Knowledge as to the origin of life will be sought as un- 
consciously as that on any other line, and as naturally. 
All around is to be seen the phenomenon of new life appear- 
ing where before life was not, and this demands explanation. 

309 



310 FOUNDATION OF MORAL UPRIGHTNESS. 

The matter would be reduced to simplicity if all parents 
and teachers of infancy themselves understood the integrity 
of creative life. What is cherished with the reverence due 
any great fact in nature cannot be misrepresented nor ignored. 

The Truth Should be Taught* 

The relation of the sexes, while tacitly ignored in ordinary 
conversation, is really kept in the consciousness of people by 
a system of jesting everywhere to be noticed. Tiny tots 
scarcely able to walk alone are told of sweethearts and beaux, 
and from that time on the most sacred of human relation- 
ships is treated with irreverence and innuendo by people who 
would be shocked to be told that only truth should be taught. 

The following words by an earnest woman describe a con- 
dition : 

"Young men and women, girls and boys, and little chil- 
dren, have been taught falsehoods when they have been taught 
anything about the most intimate facts of their physical be- 
ing and their most important relations to each other. Ig- 
norance, we have assured them, is most praiseworthy; knowl- 
edge is destructive of innocence; the truth is a guilty secret. 

"They have become possessed, as we knew they would, of 
knowledge, partly instinctive, partly obtained from clandestine 
sources ; and in this knowledge — if we dare to dignify by that 
name the illicit mass of hint and hearsay and half formed 
opinion — every fact known or inferred is smirched with 
secrecy, deception and suggestion of evil. The lie which is 
half a truth is ever the blackest of lies. What is it here, 
where, distorted, foully bespattered and stained with sensual- 
ity, it yet is enveloped in the vague fascinations of a pilfered 
pleasure ?" 



FOUNDATION OF MORAL UPRIGHTNESS. 311 
Knowledge Makes Pure. 

In answer she says further : "It is knowledge alone that 
can maintain in our young people the very virtue for the pres- 
ervation of which we have preached ignorance; knowledge 
alone that can induce in them the love of innocence and of 
her infinitely nobler and sweeter elder sister, purity." 

The sense of shame common in connection with thought 
on the subject of sex proclaims there has been perversion — 
inherited or acquired through wrong training or no train- 
ing. A little child knows no shame. For that reason his di- 
rect questions must be met with frankness. To the whole- 
some mind there is nothing in truth to cause a blush, harm 
being due to perversion. 

Perhaps the very beginning of child-training along these 
lines lies in never trying to hide the sweet dimpled body as 
if some part of it is unfit to be seen. If the little five-year-old 
brother is accustomed to see the baby sister in her bath or 
have his bath at the same time, that fact will insure him 
against any prurient curiosity on the subject; vice versa. If 
from young childhood they have seen pictures and statues of 
the chaste nude in art, no blush will ever mantle cheek or 
brow. What they have been accustomed to is a matter of 
fact, and will never excite unholy emotions. For, after all, 
impurity exists only in the mind. A wee four-year-old girl 
on seeing a nude female figure in marble said : "Lady, you 
better get your dwess on; you might get cold.'' Her idea of 
clothing was chiefly one of utility. 

As to instructions as to the nude in art, a prominent thinker 
says : "Wise parents will simply assume the perfect innocence 
of the artistic representation of the nude, just as they will 



312 FOUNDATION OF MORAL UPRIGHTNESS. 

assume the innocence of the unclothed body. That the hu- 
man figure should be painted on canvas and represented in 
marble and bronze just as it is the child will take for granted, 
unless ftis mind has been poisoned." This experience will 
prove to be true. 

Modesty and Prudery Contrasted* 

Even in this day it is not uncommon to meet women who 
actually boast of never having been wholly nude since they 
can remember. Their minds are so charged with prudery 
they are horrified to think of being alone with their own un- 
clothed bodies. They never suffer from fear or shame who 
are protected by the invulnerable moral panoply of modesty 
and intelligence. Modesty is purity of thought and feeling, 
whereas prudery is affectation of that virtue which relates to 
sex cleanness. 

Lady Cook makes the following distinctions : 

"Prudisnness is not modesty, for has not some one rightly 
said 'the over-nice are those of nasty ideas'? Chastity is not 
modesty, for many who are chaste are not so from choice. 
A person may be both prudish and chaste and yet not truly 
modest. * * * Modesty, like love, thinketh no evil; it 
also subdues evil thought in others. 

"I once observed some young women arriving unexpect- 
edly in a gallery upon a group of nude statues. They gave 
one good look, then screamed and fled as if pursued by 
savages. The immodesty that alarmed them was not in the 
statues, but in their own impure minds. It was an observa- 
tion of the great Flaxman that students entering the academy 
where they studied from the nude figure seemed to hang 
up their passions with their hats. Their familiarity with 






FOUNDATION OF MORAL UPRIGHTNESS. 313 

natural beauty led them only to inform their minds and purify 
their tastes." 

Fear and shame are the offspring of ignorance. 

Cleanness and Morality. 

After assuming the purity of the unclothed body, perhaps 
a second stage for inducing moral uprightness is physical 
cleanliness. Where this is not looked after there are some- 
times morbid conditions which have a reaction on the tempera- 
ment. Any uncleanness about the private organs will create 
irritation, to allay which the child rubs the parts. From this 
the habit of self-abuse has been known to be engendered. Con- 
stipation and pin-worms are also sources of irritation. In 
health of mind or body consciousness is beyond the realm 
of self; sensation is a symptom of disorder. Any thought 
or act for the direct purpose of pleasing physical sensation is 
a thought or act of debasement or prostitution. The body 
is an instrument through which the soul, or Ego, draws experi- 
ence for perfecting the individual, and is not of itself to be 
catered to. 

Physical cleanliness is obtained by the use of ( i ) water 
internally and externally; (2) wholesome food which shall 
nourish the body in addition to pleasing taste; (3) pure air 
in abundance; (4) thinking clean thoughts. These agencies 
have an interaction: cleanness in one phase stimulates activ- 
ity in others. Of course, parents who do not know the virtues 
of cleanliness cannot inculcate the principles in their children. 
It is true that self-development is the only kind, but wise 
parentage supplies the environment in which the child gleans 
its education, physically, mentally, morally. When the un- 
folding intelligence is impressed by word and deed of the 
benefits of order, cleanliness, abundance of fresh air, pure, 



314 FOUNDATION OF MORAL UPRIGHTNESS. 

nourishing food, and the value of the bath, these things are 
treasured up to be proved out by experience. "We are what 
we are on account of the thoughts we have thought and the 
things we have done," says the sage of East Aurora. In 
childhood, when the foundations of character are being laid, 
it is very essential that the trend of character be started in the 
direction of wholesomeness ; so that the thoughts of the child 
and the things he does shall be of future value to him. 

The Will and its Guidance* 

The will of the child is an endowment of such vital im- 
portance to him and all to whom he bears any relation, its 
recognition and guidance is one of the imperative duties of 
parents. Under the old patriarchal regime the younger 
members of the family must, justly or unjustly, submit to the 
will of the elders. Where there was rebellion parents might 
use force. "That stubborn will must be broken," was an ex- 
pression very common. This most unpardonable procedure 
has rendered many a person lacking in self-reliance. 

Felix Adler said: "The will may be compared to the 
power which propels a ship through the waves; feeling is the 
rudder, the intellect is the helmsman." A strong will, most 
valuable for its propelling power, must still be guided in the 
direction of right. It has the power of encompassing its own 
ends, but unless those are goals of good the person is that 
sure to work his own destruction. In the same manner, ac- 
cording to the same law, any force that is for good misap- 
plied becomes a damaging force. The normal will-power 
needs only good environment to unfold. Weak wills need 
cultivation on every hand. To quote Prof. Adler again : 
"Suppose a person of weak will is hungry. He knows that 
gold will buy food. Incapable of a long and complex method 



FOUNDATION OF MORAL UPRIGHTNESS. 315 

of attaining his end, he stretches forth his hand and takes it 
where he finds it. The man of weak will who has a grudge 
against his rival is not capable of putting forth sustained and 
complex series of efforts by laboring to outstrip his rival. 
He gives free and immediate rein to his passion; he draws 
the knife and kills. The man of weak will who burns with 
sensual desire assaults the object of his desire. The virtues 
depend in no small degree on the power of serial and com- 
plex thinking. To strengthen the will, therefore, it is neces- 
sary to have the power to think connectedly, and especially 
to reach an end by long and complex methods." 

The Influence of Manual Training:* 

In the training of wills naturally weak the same writer 
recommends manual training. Of this he says : "There are 
influences in manual training upon virtue. Squareness in 
things has a relation to squareness in action and in thinking. 
Truthfulness — that is, exactness — in work predisposes to 
truthfulness in speech, thought and action. If the work be 
artistic it is refining and elevating." 

When it is noticed that a child is pliable to every influence 
with which he is brought in contact, he should be the more 
closely studied to see if the readiness to yield is due to nat- 
ural unselfishness or to lack of will. If he is defective in 
purpose, no opportunity should be left unused to cultivate it. 
A child forced or driven is made irresponsible even when 
natural tendencies are normal.. Growth of character should 
always be under the influence of the sense of love, guided by 
wisdom. Hannah Whitall Smith says: "Compulsion is an 
attempt to manufacture the fruit without planting the seed." 

A child needs to be assisted in the formation of good habits, 
but to excite his antagonism by arraying his will against that 
of the parent is the most objectionable of means to be used. 



010 FOUNDATION OF MORAL UPRIGHTNESS. 

"Resist not evil and it will flee from you. Overcome evil with 
good." A dark room is not illuminated by scooping out the 
darkness in shovelfuls, but by letting in the light. Evil or 
undeveloped tendencies are done away with by positive culture 
of the good. Let child-life be filled with comfort, interest, 
amusement, and his little work or duty, and unless there are 
too strong inherited whims he will not need curbing. As a 
Yale professor said with reference to older people, "If you tear 
down the little shrine where men have been wont to worship, 
they will resist you ; but if by its side you erect a noble temple, 
they will abandon the old structure." If you want a little 
child to abandon anything that threatens to become a habit 
present him. something better, and he will accept, because all 
development is toward good. 

Obedience and the Rule of Love. 

Obedience in the family should never be arbitrary, but be 
the result of a desire to oblige one who is beloved. Dis- 
obedience is taught more often than its benign original virtue, 
obedience, by the promiscuous manner in which don'ts are 
used. Positive, not negative, training is the need of child- 
life — that training, while avoiding the undesirable, merely 
points to the desirable. Obedience is, after all, just conform- 
ity to law. When parents are wise strict obedience is always 
for the best. But who among parents are sure of their own 
infallibility so as to exact it implicitly? After a child is sev- 
eral years of age it is right to leave matters occasionally to 
his sense of discrimination, after pointing out the reasons 
for avoiding any given act. The spirit of truth expresses 
itself through every individual in whom its passage is not 
clogged by the debris of error. Teach the child early to listen 
to the voice within rather than external influences, and thereby 



FOUNDATION OF MORAL UPRIGHTNESS. 317 

he may become self-reliant. It is not for long the child is to 
be yours, O parents; and the best service from you to him 
is that which will enable him to be strong within himself. 
Then you can trust him to go through the fires of temptation, 
because you know he has the best shield possible to be ob- 
tained. When he knows the pursuit of worthy activity will 
consume the energy that might otherwise express itself in 
pleasing the physical, he will have to expend no strength re- 
sisting temptation. This rule applies to male and female 
alike. 

The Sacredness of Sex* 
Teaching the origin of human life is the province of par- 
ents or those whose business it is to care for the young in the 
absence of parents. "The facts of sex are not to be received 
with downcast eyes and blushes, nor with jests and 
innuendoes, ,, writes a social purity worker, "but with a rever- 
ent recognition of their sacredness. Through sex come to us 
all of the sweetest ties of life. Because of sex we are fathers, 
mothers, husbands, wives and children, and through these 
relations come the joys of home. The knowledge of sex, its 
powers and influence should be purely imparted; the fact of 
sex should be reverently accepted, and men and women, com- 
prehending the fatefulness of their own deeds in regard to 
sex, should hold themselves in chastity of thought as well as 
act." 

Teaching the Origin of Life. 

There is hardly a time to be set when the knowledge relat- 
ing to the origin of life may not be taught. The wanting 
to know appears more early in families where the babies 
follow each other rapidly and in neighboring families where 
there are young witnesses to the mystery of life. When the 



318 FOUNDATION OF MORAL UPRIGHTNESS, 

mind is too immature to trace the process of generation 
through plant-life, through fowls and the higher animals to 
the human, there is probably no answer which will apply to 
the query, "Where did the baby come from?" so well as to say, 
"It grew inside its mother's body, as all babies do." This 
will start a volley of other questions bearing on the subject, 
but, once having begun, the parent must never waver in frank- 
ness and reverence, and all the time must be cultivating skill 
and delicacy; for it is a lesson, once begun, that has no end- 
ing. Maturity will have brought the child power to think 
for himself, but there should never be a time he will not feel 
free to discuss any vital subject with his parents. 

After the discussion is opened the hows and whys and 
wherefores will come for consideration. As a basic principle 
the inquirer may be told that the law of God or Nature is that 
all new life must be started from a father and mother princi- 
ple; that everything that grows has its father and mother. 
The capacity for understanding is of slow growth, and much 
to be said will need saying over and over again. Always 
remember, parent, that weeds of thought are almost self-sown, 
and if you do not sow the good seed it is at the peril of your 
child's moral strength. 

If your instruction has started from the human, you can 
go through the descending scale, through the animal to the 
vegetable kingdoms, and demonstrate the truth of your first 
assertion. Enlarge his views on every possible occasion. 
Let him have pairs of fowls — pigeons, or chickens, or ducks — 
where under his guidance young may be reproduced. With 
your own reverent supervision the wonder of the mystery of 
life will appeal to the best that is in him. To see what was 
an egg one day open and release a fowl is no small matter ; it is 
one of the direct ways in which creative life speaks to us. 



FOUNDATION OF MORAL UPRIGHTNESS. 319 

In the kingdom of the lower animals, as Mrs. Scammon says, 
"Here they will learn the use and not the abuse of the pro- 
creative faculties. They will observe the manifestation of 
instinct unguided by reason, and may be led to recognize in 
themselves the power of reason to guide and govern in- 
stinct." 

A boy of eleven, spending the summer in the country, 
where the processes of generation and birth are to be seen 
on every hand, witnessed the manifestation of unreasoning in- 
stinct among the cattle. The cows, being in heat, without 
regard to barriers of wire fences, jumped over, lacerating 
themselves in the effort to get to the bull. When they were 
returned to the pasture the same performance was repeated 
by the bull. The child did not see the copulative act, it so 
happened; but his mother made use of the circumstance he 
did witness to talk with him on the propagative instinct. 
Animals, she told him, have to obey; they have no reason by 
which to be guided. Human beings are endowed with the 
same instinct to multiply and replenish the earth, but intelli- 
gence is, or should be, the directing power. A young man 
or woman may sense the creative instinct, but knowing they 
are not in position to be fathers and mothers, make use of the 
power in the creation of work; in learning lessons, in games, 
in exercise, in hundreds of ways by which they themselves 
are made strong. In the generation of offspring this excess 
of energy is lost to themselves because given to another. 

This child and this mother have always been confidential 
friends, and this talk was but one of the series begun when 
he was three or four years of age, and he is loving and loyal 
and understands. When these inquiries do not begin early, 
still the growing intelligence should be fortified all that is 
possible against the time they shall be made. 



320 FOUNDATION OF MORAL UPRIGHTNESS. 

In vegetable life the planting of seeds and the growth of 
stalk, branch, flower, fruit and seed may be made to serve as 
groundwork for the knowledge that must not be omitted from 
any intelligent child's training. Perhaps his attention will 
have to be turned toward the vegetable kingdom ; but once its 
wonders and glories have been pointed out, the young mind 
will go on of itself, always looking for help on knotty points 
from parents or teacher. 

The nurture of the seed in the moist soil, the loosening 
about the sprout, keeping out weeds, etc., bear analogy to his 
own life, and good mothers can make use of it. The flowering- 
time of the plant is the love-time — the time for the blending 
of the male and female elements necessary for endowing the 
seed with growing powers. That part of the seed which 
grows is,, in botany, called the embryo , just as is the union of 
male and female germs in the human so called at first. To this 
embryo the seed, fruit and flower are subservient. 

Sex in Plont Life. 

For the convenience of mothers who wish something at 
hand on the fertilization of flowers the following, from Prof. 
Campbell's botany, is inserted: 

"If we compare the flowers of different plants, we shall 
find almost infinite variety in structure, and this variation at 
first appears to follow no fixed laws ; but as we study the 
matter more thoroughly we find that these variations have 
a deep significance, and almost without exception have to do 
with the fertilization of the flower. 

"In the simpler flowers, such as those of a grass, sedge or 
rush among the monocotyledons, or an oak, hazel or plantain 
among dicotyledons, the flowers are extremely inconspicuous 
and often reduced to the simplest form. In such plants the 




PETRUCCIO— Helene Richter 





A TEMPEST IN A WASH-BOWL— T. Lobrichosi 



FOUNDATION OF MORAL UPRIGHTNESS. 321 

pollen is conveyed from the male flowers to the female by the 
wind, and to this end the former are usually placed above the 
latter, so that these are dusted with the pollen whenever 
the plant is shaken by the wind. In these plants the male 
flowers often outnumber the female enormously, and the pollen 
is produced in great quantities ; and the stigmas are long and 
often feathery, so as to catch the pollen readily. This is very 
beautifully shown in many grasses." 

(Pollen, it will be remembered, is the fertilizing element 



Cherry Blossoms. 
The sexual organs of the cherry tree are its blossoms. Each flower 
has both stamens and pistils. 

produced by the anther, the male part of the flower. Usually 
there are four pollen sacs in a single anther.) 

"If, however, we examine the higher groups of flowering 
plants, we see that the outer leaves of the flower become more 
conspicuous, and that this is often correlated with the develop- 
ment of a sweet fluid in certain parts of the flower, while the 
wind-fertilized flowers are destitute of this as well as of odor. 

"If we watch any bright-colored or sweet-scented flower for 
any length of time, we shall hardly fail to observe the visits of 



322 FOUNDATION OF MORAL UPRIGHTNESS. 

the insects to it, in search of pollen or honey, and attracted to 
the flower by its bright color or sweet perfume. In its visits 
from flower to flower, the insect is almost certain to transfer 
part of the pollen carried off from one flower to the stigma of 
another of the same kind, thus effecting pollination. 

"That the fertilization of a flower by pollen from another 
is beneficial has been shown by many careful experiments 
which show that nearly always, at least in flowers where there 
are special contrivances for cross-fertilization, the number of 



The Parts of a Cherry Blossom. 
A section through a single flower, (i) Pistil. (2) Ovule. (3) Stamen. 

seeds is greater and the quality better where cross-fertilization 
has taken place than where the flower is fertilized by its own 
pollen. 

"At first sight it would appear that most flowers are espe- 
cially adapted for self-fertilization; but in fact, although sta- 
mens and pistils are in the same flower, , there are usually effec- 
tive preventives for avoiding self-fertilization. In a few cases 
investigated, it has been found that the pollen from the flower 
will not germinate upon its own stigma, and in others it seems 
to act injuriously. One of the commonest means of avoiding 



FOUNDATION OF MORAL UPRIGHTNESS. 323 

self-fertilization is the maturing of stamens and pistils at dif- 
ferent times. Usually the stamens ripen first, discharging the 
pollen and withdrawing before the stigma is ready to receive it. 
"In many flowers the stamens, as they ripen, move so as to 
place themselves directly before the entrance of the nectary, 
where they are necessarily struck by an insect searching for 
honey ; after the pollen is shed, they move aside or bend down- 
ward and their place is taken by the pistil, so that an insect 



*fN>. 




Pollen Falling from the Stamen. 
The stamen, producing the pollen cells, is the male organ. 

which has come from a younger flower will strike the part 
of the body previously dusted with pollen against the stigma, 
and deposit the pollen upon it. This arrangement is very 
beautifully seen in the nasturtium and larkspur." 

* * * "It will be found that the character of the color 
of the flower is related to the insects visiting it. Brilliantly 
colored flowers are usually visited by butterflies, bees and 
similar day-flying insects. Flowers opening at night are 
usually white or pale yellow, colors best seen at night, and 



324 FOUNDATION OF MORAL UPRIGHTNESS. 



in addition are very strongly scented so as to attract the night- 
flying moths which usually fertilize them. Sometimes dull- 
colored flowers, which frequently have a very offensive odor, 
are visited by flies and other carrion-loving insects, which serve 
to convey pollen to them." 

When Nature has made such elaborate arrangement for 
propagation of the species, what is man that he should look 
down upon the law as expressed in himself? 

In the lowest forms of life in both vegetable and animal 





(3) 

(«) wmm (b) 

The Pistil. 

The pistil, producing the seed, is the female organ. (a) External 
view, (b) Section — (i) Open mouth of the tube. (2) Passage to the 
ovary which contains (3) the ovule. 

kingdoms reproduction is attained by a splitting or division of 
the parent cell, each division growing to the size of the 
original. As the quality of life improves, only certain divis- 
ions have reproductive power. The following from Alex- 
ander enlightens on the process of differentiation : 

"In those asexual animals which are only so far differen- 
tiated as to have the reproductive cells distinct from those pro- 
ducing tissues, the reproductive cells are usually to be found 
together in one place and developing in connection with a 
special gland. And when sex differentiation begins both kinds 



FOUNDATION OF MORAL UPRIGHTNESS. 



325 



of sex cells are first found developing in the same gland. Then 
the two kinds are developed alternately; the one kind at one 
period in the life of the individual and the other kind at 
another time from the same gland. Then there are two glands, 
one for the development and keeping of the female cells, or 
ova, and the other for the male cells, or spermatozoa. Both 
these glands are at first in one individual and near together; 
later they become separated in different parts of the same 



L to 




— a) 



Fertilization. 
Diagram illustrating fertilization. A grain of pollen (i) sends a rootlet 
to the ovule (2), which causes the latter to contain an embryo. This cor- 
responds to conception in animals. 

animal ; and finally the female cells are found in one individual 
and the male cells in another. When both kinds are found in 
a single individual it is called an hermaphrodite; when an 
individual has but one kind it is unisexual. Among both 
plants and animals are to be found these three conditions as 
regards reproduction, viz. : asexual reproduction, hermaph- 
roditism, unisexuality. Most plants that we ordinarily meet 
are hermaphrodites, but a considerable number are unisexual, 



326 FOUNDATION OF MORAL UPRIGHTNESS. 

one plant bearing the fertilizing pollen, and another the ovules, 
which when fertilized grow into the seed." 

Natural law is always reliable; when intelligently compre- 
hended conformity with it is gladly given, and the result is 
healthy, harmonious life. For every natural impulse of life 
there is an expression which is in consonance with natural law. 
It therefore behooves all practical, progressive people to dis- 
cover the hidden leadings of the law that they and their chil- 
dren and all with whom they come in contact may be bene- 




Seeds in a Ripe Pistil. 
A ripened pistil of the bean bursting open to permit the seeds to escape. 
This corresponds to birth in animals. 

fited ; therefore made happy by conformity. Nature is always 
beneficent. As the glorious Phillips Brooks said, "It seems 
to me there is something sublimely positive in Nature. She 
never kills for the sake of killing; but every death is but one 
step in the vast weaving of the web of life. She has no process 
of destruction which, as you turn it to the other side and look 
at it in what you know to be its truer light, you do not see 
to be a process of construction. She gets rid of her wastes by 



THE VITAL PRINCIPLE OF LIFE. 



327 



ever new plans of nutrition. This is what gives her such a 
courageous, hopeful and enthusiastic look, and makes men 
love her as a mother and not fear 
her as a tyrant. They see by small 
signs, and dimly feel, this positive- 
ness of her workings which is the 
glory of natural science to reveal 
more and more." 

Life and love are facts in human- 
kind. Repression brings stagnation, 
expression more abundance of pow- 
er. When informed that the ex- 
pression must wholly be in the re- 
productive system, thought deter- 
mines the influx of life to that one 
portion of his body instead of allow- 
ing it to be diffused through the 
whole body. The desire for expres- 
sion in the one direction cannot 
bring as good returns as the desire 
for expression in many directions. 
The office of the sex-power, aside 
from propagation of the species, is 
for the recuperation of the indi- 
vidual body which gives strength J HE YoUNG Plant ' 

& An oak beginning to grow 

to create on all lines of activity, from the acorn. This cor- 
r^ ,. ,.- . . responds to infant animal 

Creative life is positive and makes life. 
continuous demand for expression. To know the law and to 
do it is the acme of wisdom; in this is the true foundation for 
moral uprightness. 




PART III. 




CHAPTER II. 

The Kindergarten. 

HE record of the idea of universal education was 
first made in the sixteenth century ; although as early 
as the fourteenth century one of the monastic orders, 
known as the Brethren of the Common Life, was 
engaged in teaching the children of the lower classes (so- 
called). In England in the sixteenth centuiy Erasmus suc- 
ceeded in infusing a more general enthusiasm for culture than 
had ever before been known. In the German states, Luther 
is said to have expressed himself as favorable to universal edu- 
cation in a communication written during the year 1554. But 
these earliest suggestions dealt merely with the acquiring of 
Latin, and later Greek, by boys over ten years of age. The 
real father of the modern idea of education was Comenius 
(born 1592, died 1671). He urged that instruction be given 
by means of the native tongue and to both sexes equally; he 
also prepared an illustrated work for the instruction of chil- 
dren and a book for mothers. So much in advance of the day 
was he, he demanded that everybody be instructed in the 
sciences and the various handicrafts of the day; these latter 
ideas are only beginning to take hold at the dawn of the 
twentieth century. 

The Great Pioneers of Education* 

Comenius was followed by Montaigne, Rabelais, and later 

by John Locke. It was through Locke that Rousseau received 

328 



THE KINDERGARTEN. 329 

the inspiration that brought forth "Emile," the ideas from 
which largely influenced Europe and America. Rousseau 
argued that education should begin at birth and continue in all 
directions toward the production of a well-rounded individual. 
That the child should be taught to find out things and their 
meaning for himself; how to grow strong in body and be 
industrious; how to develop the requisite insight; how to 
despise idleness and evil, and to do right; how to be observing, 
self-directing, creative; how to learn the deepest truths at first 
hand; how to be independent. "Books are not the most im- 
portant instruments of learning," said Locke; "we must edu- 
cate the senses and through them the intellect;" and from this 
basis Rousseau elaborated his theory of training in "Emile." 

Pestalozzi's work followed close upon Rousseau's. His own 
childhood, spent by the side of "the best of mothers," was 
deprived of the necessary stimulus for the development of 
strength. Said he, "The real life of man was as strange to 
me as if I did not live in the world in which I dwelt." Com- 
paring his own limitations with the full, free life set forth in 
"Emile" led him to develop himself as a teacher of little 
children. About the year 1780 his first book, "Leonard and 
Gertrude," was published, and later "How Gertrude Teaches 
Her Children." His theory was that the young should be 
definitely taught from a very early age, and by means of the 
senses instead of being made to learn mere words and ideas, 
thus securing the harmonious development of the natural 
powers. From 1805, for twenty years Pestalozzi lived at 
Yverdun, on the Lake of Neufchatel, working steadily at his 
task of education. Here he was visited by all the noted people 
on the continent who were interested in education. His pupils 
included Ramsauer, Delbriick, Blachman, Carl Ritter, Froebel 
and Zeller. 



330 THE KINDERGARTEN. 

What Education Did for Germany. 

Fichte, the German philosopher and patriot, awakened the 
nation to the need of universal education at the beginning of 
the past century. Lange mentions him in the following words : 
"When, during the years of French domination, it seemed as 
though the death knell of German nationality had been rung, 
when cowardly soldiers in masses deserted their flag while the 
battle raged, Fichte saw that the salvation of Germany lay in 
the education of her sons. 'Create a nation by national educa- 
tion ! ' he cried to the princes of Germany. The princes at his 
exhortation appealed to the people, and freedom from a for- 
eign yoke was their reward. Not Bliicher, not Schornhorst, 
but Fichte, drove the French from the Fatherland. Fichte' s 
deepest conviction was that the idea of the perfect state could 
only be realized through education. 'The reasonable state/ 
says he, 'can never be formed from existing material by arti- 
ficial means; it must be evolved from the consciousness of an 
educated people.' " 

It is most largely due to the German agitation during the 
last one hundred years that the science of education, or peda- 
gogics, came into existence. 

The philosophy of Immanuel Kant colored the thoughts of 
leaders on many lines. "To-day we live in a world where 
everything great and small owns his influence," says Miss 
Blow., 

The Influence of Kant's Philosophy. 

"Through its influence upon the willing mind of Schleier- 
macher, the reluctant mind of Frederick Maurice, and the hos- 
tile mind of Cardinal Newman, the philosophy created by 
Kant, and developed by his successors, has leavened the theol- 
ogies of Germany, England and Rome. Through Goethe and 



THE KINDERGARTEN. 331 

Schiller it has stamped itself upon German literature. Through 
Coleridge and Carlyle it has penetrated English literature. 
Through New England transcendentalism it has become a 
power in American literature. Through the music of Wag- 
ner and Beethoven it has stirred in all susceptible souls lofty 
and mysterious emotions. Through Schelling, Oken, Carus, 
Oersted and others it has laid its magic touch upon natural 
science. Last of all — but, if there be truth in the parable of 
the mustard seed, perhaps not least of all — it has bent itself 
to the lowly service of childhood, and, using as its instru- 
ment the mind of Froebel, is visibly transforming the nurser- 
ies and infant schools of all civilized lands. 

"When Mr. Olcott was asked to define transcendentalism, 
he answered promptly, Tt means there is something in the 
mind that did not get there by the senses.' This definition 
suggests the point of departure for modern speculative 
philosophy. Kant could not believe that 'all knowledge con- 
sists of impressions of the senses and the faint images of these 
impressions called up in memory and thinking.' " 

Frederick Froebel became deeply imbued with the thought 
of oneness or unity throughout the universe from reading 
after those philosophers of his time who elaborated that idea. 
And it is only by looking at the first principles from which 
he reasoned that we are enabled to understand his system of 
education. Says Miss Blow : "The insight that spirit is the 
sole reality, that this Absolute* Spirit is God, and that all 
beings possess life and mind in so far as they participate in 
God, is the key to all those passages in Froebel's writings 
which refer to what he calls the fact of life-unity and the pro- 
cess of life-unification." 



332 THE KINDERGARTEN. 

Froebel's "Education of Man/' 

From the opening paragraphs of Froebel's "Education of 
Man" we take the following sentences: 

"In all things there lives and reigns an eternal law. 
* * * This all-controlling law implies — as its source — an 
all-pervading, energizing, self-conscious, and hence eternal 
unity. * * * This unity is God. From God all things 
have proceeded. In God all things subsist. The essential 
nature of any given thing is the God-like principle within ; the 
destiny of all things is to unfold the divine essence and thus 
to manifest God. * * * The destiny of man as a rational 
being is to become conscious of the divine essence and to reveal 
it in his life with self-determination and freedom. * * * 
To recognize the workings of this universal divine principle 
in nature and humanity is science. * * * To discern its 
bearings upon the development of rational beings is the science 
of education. * * * To apply it practically to all kinds 
of individuals in all stages of development is the art of edu- 
cation. * * * To lead the pupil to its conscious revela- 
tion is the goal of education." 

"From every point, from every object in nature and life, 
there is a way to God." 

"The things of nature form a more beautiful ladder between 
heaven and earth than that seen by Jacob. * * * Not in 
dreams is it seen ; it is permanent ; it surrounds us on all sides. 
It is decked with flowers, and angels with children's eyes 
beckon us towards it ; it is solid, resting on a floor of crystals ; 
the inspired singer David praises and glorifies it." 

"If we seek the inner reason for this high symbolic mean- 
ing of the different individual phenomena of nature, particu- 
larly in the phases of development of natural objects in re- 



THE KINDERGARTEN. 333 

lationship to the stadia of human development, we find it in the 
fact that nature and man have their origin in one and the 
same eternal Being, and that their development takes place in 
accordance with the same laws, only at different stages." 

"Everything is of divine nature, of divine origin. Every- 
thing is, therefore, relatively a unity, as God is absolute 
unity. Everything, therefore, inasmuch as it is — though only 
relatively — a unity, manifests its nature only in and through 
a triune revelation and representation of itself, and there only 
in and through continuously progressive, hence relatively all- 
sided, development." 

"This truth is the foundation of all contemplation, knowl- 
edge and comprehension of nature. Without it there can be 
no true, genuine productive investigation and knowledge of 
nature. Without it there can be no true contemplation of 
nature leading to insight into the essential being of nature." 

Froebel's application of the philosophy of his time is what 
makes him an original and unique character. 

The Phenomena of Child Nature. 

In his introduction to the Commentaries on the Mother- 
Play he says to mothers : 

"What, then, are the phenomena through which the nature 
of your child reveals itself? What can there be other than 
the phenomena present wherever an invisible unity of essence 
manifests itself in form, whether it be in the realm of plant 
life, of animal life, or of human life? 

"Compare the seed and the tgg with the full-grown plant 
and the fledged bird. Study the analogous development of 
feeling and of thought. Out of the indefinite the definite is 
born. The indefinite is the husk of a rich kernel of life. 
Watch this inner life as it struggles for expression in the 






334 THE KINDERGARTEN. 

swelling buds on the trees, in the growth of young animals, in 
the impulses' of infancy. It will rejoice you to behold the 
life of your child overflowing in activity. It will rejoice you 
none the less to observe his susceptibility to the incitement 
which the life outside of him offers to his own. Like young 
plants and young animals he responds to the subtlest changes 
of light and heat. Akin to his susceptibility is his excitability. 
The strings of his soul vibrate responsive to the lightest 
touch. Even so the tender plantlet and the unfledged bird are 
so affected by almost imperceptible influences and modified 
by the least change in their environment. 

"Too often the susceptibility and excitability of your child 
bring grief both upon him and upon you. Nevertheless, it is 
through them that, like the germinating seed and the grow- 
ing bird, he attracts to himself the influences necessary for his 
development, and achieves spontaneously his own distinctive 
bodily type and his own mental individuality. 

"More potent, however, than all external stimuli is the 
child's passionate impulse towards a development of his own 
inner being which shall be on the one hand spontaneous and 
on the other in accord with the universal trend of life. This 
passion declares itself in his incessant activity and during 
the periods of infancy and early childhood manifests itself 
particularly in bodily movement and in the energy of sense. 
Hence, notwithstanding the purity of its motive, it often be- 
gets misunderstanding and gloom, wrong-doing, strife and 
pain. 

Froebel's System* 

"In the education of your child, therefore, let your point of 
departure be an effort to strengthen and develop his body, his 
limbs and his senses. From this development of body, limb 



THE KINDERGARTEN. 335 

and sense rise to their use. Move from impressions to per- 
ception; from perception to attentive observation and con- 
templation; from the recognition of particular objects to their 
relation and dependencies; from the healthy life of the body 
to the healthy life of the spirit; from thought immanent in 
experience to pure thinking. Ascend thus from sensation to 
thought; from external observation to internal apprehension; 
from physical combination to spiritual synthesis; from a for- 
mal to a vital intellectual grasp, and so to the culture of the 
understanding; from the observation of phenomena and their 
relations to the recognition of their final cause, and hence 
to the development and culture of life-grasping reason. By 
such procedure there will be formed in the pupil at the goal of 
his education the clear and transparent soul-picture of each 
particular being, including himself, of the great whole to which 
all particular beings, including himself, belong as members, 
and of the truth that the particular being reflects as in a mirror 
the universal life. 

"Lead your child from the fact to the picture, from the pic- 
ture to the symbol, from the symbol to grasp of the fact as a 
spiritual whole. Thus will be developed the ideas of member 
and whole, of the individual and the universal. Educate 
your child in this manner, and at the goal of his education 
he will recognize himself as the living member of a living 
whole, and will know that his life mirrors the life of his family, 
his people, humanity, the being and life of God who works in 
all and through all. Having attained to a clear vision of the 
universal life, his conscious aim will be to manifest it in his 
feeling and thought, in his relationship and his deeds." 

The Family and the State. 

Impressed with the immense importance of the first stage of 
a child's life, Froebel, like Pestalozzi, devoted himself to the 



336 THE KINDERGARTEN. 

instruction of mothers. Pestalozzi held that children belonged 
to the family, and Fichte that they belonged to the state. Froe- 
bel harmonized this apparent contradiction by claiming chil- 
dren for both the family and the state, and would have chil- 
dren spend some hours daily in a common life and in well- 
organized common employment. He maintained that even an 
ideal mother of an ideal family could not supply all the 
requisites for a complete education ; that the child needed early 
association of his equals — that is, associates of his own age. 
The restless activity of the child is diverted into channels that 
serve a useful purpose, all under the guise of play. So he 
invented games, gifts and occupations, which, while consum- 
ing the restless energy of infancy, should train both his sub- 
jective and objective self into ways of usefulness and unself- 
ishness. 

Preparation for the Kindergarten. 

Kindergartners from the time of Froebel to the present, to 
be successful, must be persons of the highest quality of soul, 
and skilled not only in the technical work, but also in the art 
of accurately estimating and providing for each of the chil- 
dren under their supervision. Frau Maria Kraus-Boelte, one 
of the successful kindergarten trainers, tells of her prepara- 
tion for the work in a lecture delivered some years ago and 
afterwards printed. She said: "My education was a lib- 
eral one, and in accordance with kindergarten principles, and 
besides this I enjoyed the advantages which are naturally de- 
rived from the refined and cultivated surroundings of good 
society. I studied the kindergarten system when a young 
girl, and it was Froebel' s widow, then residing in Hamburg, 
who became my teacher and friend. Free choice and love 
for the little ones led me to adopt this as my vocation. I had 



THE KINDERGARTEN. 337 

peculiar advantages in thus being an inmate of Madame Froe- 
bel's household. She unveiled many a thought of Froebel's 
to me which otherwise I should never have become acquainted 
with ; I studied his writings with her ; she allowed me to inves- 
tigate much of the precious work done by him or under his 
directions. I attended all her different classes, besides having 
the benefit of her continuous private instructions. Twice 
each week, also, I visited the seminary for teachers, where 
pedagogues of high repute lectured and taught, and where 
I was brought into contact with the kindergartners of the 
city. * * * Many of Froebel's old pupils visited his wid- 
ow during that time. * * * It was here my mind was 
early directed to America, the land — as Froebel thought — 
which was to be the one where his educational ideas would 
best take root. * * * To carry out this American project 
it was necessary for me to be familiar with the English lan- 
guage, and I went to another gifted pupil of Froebel in Lon- 
don, where I taught gratuitously in Madame Rouge's kinder- 
garten, which was attended by the poorer class of children, 
and the work was, indeed, to all who took part in it, 
a labor of love, of humanity. With this able propagator of 
the cause I learned to look at the kindergarten from another 
point of view, and to understand more and more how greatly 
culture was needed in order to accomplish first-class work. 
French I spoke when I was seven years old, but I went nev- 
ertheless to Paris and continued my studies in that language. 
Music was again taken up ; also drawing and modeling ; a 
regular course of calisthenics was pursued. The various 
branches of the kindergarten system, one at a time, were 
once more taken up and studied — viz., the theory and prac- 
tice of the games and of story-telling; the different gifts and 
occupations of the kindergarten ; mathematics ; the history of 



338 THE KINDERGARTEN. 

education, etc. But I never attempted to train others for the 
profession until that happy day came when Madame Froebel 
called me to join in her work, and to take the chief charge 
of her training-school for kindergartners." 

The True Kindergartner, 

No person not filled with the "'divine enthusiasm" for the 
work would give so much time for the study of the system. 
The true kindergartner must he so en rapport with the spirit 
of this system of training the very young child as to be will- 
ing and eager to make a thorough preparation, and thereafter 
do conscientious work. Froebel's philosophy, in effect, is that 
education is not putting in, but drawing out; not adding to 
from without, but developing from within. That education 
is a process of development, not by furnishing and veneering 
the natural self, but by constructing and aiding an ever-grow- 
ing self to unfold in all directions. 

Frau Kraus-Boelte mentions the idea sometimes referred to 
of "improving" or "Americanizing" the kindergarten sys- 
tem. "In their ignorance," she says, "they are not aware 
that Froebel's kindergarten system was never designed for 
one nation or for a particular class of society. As there is 
one law throughout nature, so also exists in the kindergarten 
one principle which is founded on nature, and is- intended for 
all mankind" 

In treating of the all-around nature of the kindergarten 
development another eminent writer says : 

"Beginning with the very most plastic stage of the child 
life, the sympathetic kindergartner is taught so to guide and 
exercise and develop every muscle, joint and sense organ; 
every budding emotional, ideational and volitional faculty; 
all the imaginative, initiative and creative activities; and 



THE KINDERGARTEN. 339 

likewise every spiritual aspiration and faith; in truth, every 
organ and faculty, as they successively show themselves forth, 
in such a way that the little ones of her fold are unconsciously 
helped and even made to grow as they should grow, to be 
both symmetrical and capable, and this, so far as possible, 
without cloud or discouragement, or other source of warping 
self-consciousness and detrimental influence. Correct notions 
of self and of its relations to other selves, of aspiration and 
hope, of pleasure and pain, of freedom and responsibility, of 
play and work, are also sought to be developed, not by abstract 
and ideational infusions and crammings beyond the as yet 
but partially developed capactiy of the child, but by habitual 
exercise in accordance with the fact that the necessary growth 
of brain and nerve cells, which of late has been so thoroughly 
demonstrated by Flechsig and others, and of all the other 
physical characteristics as well, should not be outstripped or 
choked or perverted. In other words, it appears that ideas 
and doctrines of every nature, no matter how desirable, are 
first suggested through natural steps, and then taught by 
actual practice; that is, the kindergartner is to use her skill 
in helping the child to learn by doing, as they say, and thus 
to exemplify most trustworthily the doctrine and method of 
modern psychology." 

The Universality of Froebel's System* 

And again, as to the citizen's interest in this system, the 
same authority says: "It would be nothing less than most 
profitable could we proceed to* analyze adequately his (Froe- 
bel's) life and work and writings, and touch fully upon his 
philosophy and method; if possible, to put ourselves along- 
side this prophet of the better times, inbreathe his clear spirit, 
and acquaint ourselves fully with his plans and hopes; in 



340 THE KINDERGARTEN. 

fact, to place ourselves where we could get a right perspective 
of his pedagogic setting, and so be able eventually to think 
upon his life and work until we could realize clearly just 
wherein he is to be correlated with our present-day needs and 
prospects. * * * Born before our day and in Germany, 
yet Froebel does not seem to have been of any one land ex- 
clusively, nor of any one age. Neither was he exclusively of 
any particular school of philosophy or pedagogics, nor a par- 
tisan in the sociological arena; but, on the contrary, he was 
a veritable revelator of the true and universal spirit, sym- 
pathetic of the greater good, the promise of a comprehensive 
ethics and religion, and the forerunner of a completer manli- 
ness and womanliness." 

The Meaning: of the Gifts* 

Prof. Hailmann, one of the recognized leaders in interpret- 
ing Froebel, in one of his printed lectures explains the mean- 
ing of the Gifts : 

"In order to illustrate how well Froebel succeeded in devis- 
ing educational means that might be efficient in leading the 
child to all-sided life — complete living, as Herbert Spencer 
has it — I have selected his so-called Gifts, the most concrete 
of the materials for growth provided by him. They can be 
handled most easily and offer the clearest opportunity for 
testing our reasonings and conclusions. These gifts are play- 
things, peculiarly adapted to the scope, the wants and the 
destiny of the child — a destiny founded upon the idea of 
Unification. 

"In devising and compiling these Gifts, Froebel was led 
by the following principles: 

The Four Guiding Principles* 

"i. The child is to be viewed and treated in each and every 
activity as being in uninterrupted, simultaneous, all-sided con- 
nection with all phases of life ; hence every activity, every ex- 



THE KINDERGARTEN. 341 

ercise, every gift must aid the development of the whole child, 
simultaneously and in all directions, must contribute to the 
mental, the intellectual and the moral equally, and at the same 
time must have physical and mental, intellectual and moral 
sides of development. 

"2. The child is to be viewed and treated as a whole in 
himself, and as a part or member of greater wholes, expanding 
concentrically — family, society, humanity, nature, universe; 
as a whole, similar in all particulars of his essence, in all the 
laws of his being, to the greater wholes of which he is a part 
or member. Whatever is in each or any of these greater 
wholes, is also in its smallest (approximately smallest) part, 
the child; whatever is in humanity is also in the child; what- 
ever is in the all — the macrocosm, is also in its smallest proxi- 
mate element, the child — the microcosm. 

"3. The inner development (moral nature) of the child 
depends on an instinct, a tendency to action, an impetus acting 
from within outward; the outer development or molding (in- 
tellectual nature) depends similarly on an impression, an 
action, an impetus from without. These two opposite yet 
equal, contrasted yet similar, conditions, yield in their aggre- 
gate^ — with life and in life — the educated human being. The 
human being is the product of mutual, corresponding actions 
and reactions, which of necessity are opposite in direction and 
equal in character and intensity. 

"4. Hence, only the co-operation of contrasted similar con- 
ditions, and their union (connection) in life and through life, 
can lead the child to humanity. Thus, the union of con- 
trasted conditions of color leads the child to the general no- 
tions of color; the union of contrasted states of conscious- 
ness, with the aid of contrasted forms of language, leads to 



342 THE KINDERGARTEN. 

insight ; the union of insight with action, of our thinking and 
feeling with our doing, leads to morality. 

The Principles Applied* 

"Now, Froebel asks of the gifts or playthings devised and 
compiled by him that they should, each and all, satisfy these 
four principles singly and in the aggregate. Inasmuch as 
they are external to the child they should therefore as fully 
as possible represent the outer world; so that with their aid 
the child may succeed in understanding, in grasping, in ap- 
propriating and assimilating the outer world; in making, as 
Froebel has it, the external internal. On the other hand, these 
playthings must be sufficiently limited in size, parts and prop- 
erties to come fully within the child's control; so that he 
may with their aid — by transforming, re-arranging, moving 
them — represent his thoughts and feelings in concrete forms, 
give expression to them in material representations to be re- 
criticised by the senses — that he may make, as Froebel says, 
the internal external/' 

The Gifts Described and Analyzed* 

The -first Gift designed by Froebel is the ball, or rather 
balls. They are made of soft worsted, of three elementary 
and three secondary colors. They may be pendent as in the 
illustration, so as to be within the child's control. 

Of the First Gift, Hailmann explains: "As the child, the 
growing germ of consciousness, of self, is ready and eager to 
take in all the world with all its actualities and possibilities, 
the ball, the simple embodiment of the essence of all things 
that are and can be, is a suitable representation of every 
object that may impress the child's senses, serves as a center 
of attraction around which all his impressions can cluster, and 



THE KINDERGARTEN. 



343 



enables him to give full and true expression to every form 
of thought and feeling; for, as yet, surrounding objects are 
to the child only what the ball is, simple, undivided and indi- 
visible objects — one or many — at rest or moving." 

The Second Gift is a box containing a sphere, a cylinder 
and a cube, agreeing in dimensions. They may be swung 
so as to allow the child to give each a variety of positions. 
These each appear to the child as an undivided and indivisble 
whole. So that he may find in the Second Gift all that he 
found in the first, and more. The difference in the balls, the 



r mm 

Sw i , , r 



1 I 1 



J 



The First Gift. 




The Second Gift. 



First Gift, was expressed in color; the difference in the Sec- 
don Gift is expressed in shape. 

Says Hailmann: "There is, in the Second Gift, again, 
rest and motion; but, while in the First Gift they adhered 
vaguely and equally to each and all the members, they, too, 
become in the Second Gift mherent qualities, or character- 
istics. In the cube rest appears as firmness, inertness; in the 
sphere, motion as mobility, life; and the cylinder placed on 
end approaches in inertness the cube; placed on the side, it 
resembles in mobility the sphere. Thus the three appear as 



344 



THE KINDERGARTEN. 



representatives of the vague essence of the three kingdoms of 
nature : in the cube life sleeps as in the mineral kingdom, 
and the cube moves only when placed on edge or corner, to 
return again to sleep ; in the cylinder, the type of the vegetable 
kingdom, axial life in certain directions begins to manifest 
itself; and in the sphere, as in the animal kingdom, all-sided 
life, life in all directions, is reached. Again, the Second 
Gift presents types of the principal phases of human devel- 
opment :, from the easy mobility of infancy and childhood — the 
ball — we pass through the half-steady stages of boyhood and 
girlhood — represented in the cylinder — to the firm character 




The Third Gift. 



of manhood and womanhood for which the cube furnishes the 
formula." 

"The Child's Joy/' 

The Third Gift is a cube somewhat larger than the Second 
Gift, cut once in the direction of each of its dimensions and 
divided into eight smaller cubes. Froebel called this Gift 
"The Child's Joy." It is the first gift that does not represent 
an indivisible whole. 

The growing desire for independent activity finds expres- 



THE KINDERGARTEN. 



345 



sion in the Third Gift. The child can take apart and put to- 
gether many different forms agreeable to the innate longing 
to create. 

The same authority, speaking of this desire in infancy, says : 
"Left to itself, or allowed to vent itself upon the frail play- 




The Fourth Gift. 

things of the toy shop, this awakening consciousness of power 
will become wanton destructiveness and cruelty, egotism and 
vandalism. The child lacks the skill and insight to restore 
his toy horse from the fragments into which he has search- 
ingly shattered it, and they are too frail and irregular, as 
well as too specific in shape, to be made into anything else ; the 



A/ / jmm 


y\/\/\A 


. — ■ 










-r- / 






jn fj 


z / 


Y 


Zy 


p 






pilP 


\ 




II 






flfr *■ 


\ 







The Fifth Gift. 

child has made an analysis, but he is unable to make any 
synthesis. 

"Not so with the parts of the Third Gift; the cube is broken 
up; but oh, wonder and joy! each of its parts resembles the 
whole, the original; he has not destroyed, he has not killed 
his own joy, he has more, more of the delightful playthings. 



346 



THE KINDERGARTEN. 



* * * And behold! when they are put together again- — 
when a synthesis is made — what a wealth of new forms, what 
a store of new playthings grow as by charm out of the parts ! 




The Sixth Gift. 

Now a table, then a chair, a sofa, a bed, a house with many 
windows, or a little village, a poultry yard, a stable, a wagon, 
a bridge, a train of cars." 









The Seventh Gift. 



Thus the force, which would be destructiveness if untrained, 
becomes creative. 

The Fourth Gift has an aim similar to the Third; but it 



THE KINDERGARTEN. 



347 




The Eighth Gift. 



gives rise to the observation of similarity and dissimilarity. 
It is a cube again; but is this time divided into eight oblong 
blocks. 

The Fifth Gift brings in number the factor three, in shape 
the triangle, in di- 
rection the oblique 
line, as character- 
istic elements. It 
is a large cube di- 
vided into twenty- 
one whole cubes, 
six half cubes, and 
twelve qua r t e r 
cubes. 

The Sixth Gift reveals the value of axial contrasts and fur- 
ther assists in analysis and synthesis. 

The Seventh Gift consists of tablets of wood of different col- 
ors and of triangular and quadrangular shape. This is an 
advanced step for the child. Heretofore his work has been 

with objects repre- 
senting length, 
breadth and thick- 
ness. With the tablets 
the thickness has dis- 
appeared, "and he 
seems to be playing 
with abstract ele- 
ments of surface. 
With these square 
tablets and others 
of triangular shape, 
the child lays, constructs, no longer real solid representations 
of things, but their pictures or surface representations." 

The connected slat is the Eighth Gift. This represents the 
embodied edge of a figure of which it is the outline. 




The Ninth Gift. 



348 THE KINDERGARTEN. 

The Ninth Gift is the disconnected slat. 

The Tenth Gift consists of wooden slats of various length 
and one-tenth of an inch in thickness. The slats, like most 
of the preceding gifts, are intended to teach numerical pro- 
portion; they represent the embodied straight line, and are 




ts; 



^: 



) 



7^: 



£: 



The Tenth Gift. 

an excellent preparation for drawing and other occupations. 

By interlacing these slats an almost inexhaustible variety of 

forms is produced. 

The Eleventh Gift consists of whole and half wire rings 

of various diameter. The rings, like the sticks, are intended 

to teach form and propor- 
tion; they represent the 
embodied curved line. 

The Twelfth Gift is the 
thread, which not only is 
amusing and instructive, 
but is of actual use to the 
child; by means of the 
thead innumerable forms 

of knowledge, symmetry and life can be produced. 

The Thirteenth Gift is the point, by which seeds, shells, 

stones, etc., are made to form lines, and with the lines an 

unlimited variety of figures can be produced on a plane. It 




The Eleventh Gift. 



THE KINDERGARTEN. 



34D 



offers suitable opportunity to exercise small children in group- 
ing and sorting the different materials. 



The Philosophy of the Gifts* 

"We see in Froebel's Gifts," says Hailmann, the "outward 
appliances of a scheme of mental training influencing, feeding 
the various phases of mental life, inward and outward, evenly, 
harmoniously and with almost ideal directness and efficiency; 
leading the child in his thoughts and expressions, in his feel- 
ings and actions, in scope and intensity, to unity, to univer- 
sality. These Gifts enable 
the child to give outward 
shape to whatever notion 
he may have formed of 
things; to express not in 
words alone (which are 
so fleeting and uncertain), 
but in things, his ideas 
of their relations; to re- 
flect outwardly, to pro- 
duce in visible shape the impressions which the world 
has made through the senses upon his consciousness. 
While his hands grow in skill as they increase in size and 
strength, he has, too, better opportunities for comparing his 
notion of things with their corresponding outer realities, and 
for correcting and amplifying them. 

"Every step in insight leads to a corresponding advance in 
expression, in skill; the pleasure that attends the increase of 
light which his play with the Gifts throws upon the world 
about him, arouses, fixes, strengthens his love of truth ; every 
new success in obtaining clearness adds to his firmness of 




The Twelfth Gift. 



350 



THE KINDERGARTEN. 



purpose ; every fresh triumph in the invention of simple forms 
of symmetry enhances his sense and appreciation of the beau- 
tiful ; every intellectual gain reacts favorably and immediately 
upon a corresponding moral impulse; every new analysis is 
immediately followed by infinitely varied syntheses, in which 
the new elements of knowledge gained are combined and re- 
combined with each other, and with previous cognitions, in 

endless reproductions and in- 
ventions, in endless forms of 
utility and beauty assimilated at 
once and wholly into the life of 
the organism." 

The Occupations* 

The Occupations designed 
by Froebel continue the work 
of all-sided development. These 
are the Perforating, Sewing 
and Embroidering, Network, 
Drawing, Painting, Weaving 
and Braiding Mats, Paper-in- 
$*!$» terlacing, Paper-folding, Pa- 
per-cutting, Mounting and Sil- 
houetting, Peas or Cork Work, 
The Thirteenth Gift. Cardboard Work and Modeling 

in Clay. In all of these the 
artistic, the moral and the intellectual are drawn out. 

The following story is illustrative of the spread of the 
kindergarten art from child to father : 

The Child Teaching: the Father* 

"One morning a stranger, to all appearances a working- 
man, called upon Madame Froebel, bringing with him some 




* 




THE KINDERGARTEN. 351 

large object carefully wrapped in paper. Apologizing for the 
liberty he was taking, he explained that his little boy, who 
was then about five years old, had been for two years a pupil 
in the kindergarten. He stated that he was himself a joiner 
by trade, but as he had not sufficient means to carry on this 
occupation with profit, he had some time since become greatly 
disheartened. About this time he noticed his little boy, who 
was accustomed to come into his workshop to play when 
returning from the kindergarten which Mrs. Froebel was 
conducting, and watched him as he played with the chips 
which he found scattered around the shop. At first the 
father did not pay much attention to the child's play, but one 
day he noticed that he had made a combination of very beau- 
tiful forms consisting entirely of triangles, which he changed 
regularly and methodically from one form into another. Be- 
coming interested he sat down by the child's side, learning 
from the little one. After awhile he, too, began to arrange 
the forms in the same way, and according to the law of op- 
posites, so unconsciously carried out by the child — a law which 
the maturer mind of the man grasped at once. The result of 
this occupation was that he had manufactured some very 
beautiful tables, the surfaces of which, formed according to 
the rules practiced in the kindergarten, were inlaid with 
parti-colored wooden triangles. These tables he had disposed 
of at a considerable profit, and had thus been enabled to re- 
lieve the wants of his family and better his own circumstances ; 
his trade had materially increased and he was becoming quite 
prosperous. He, therefore, called upon Mrs. Froebel to ex- 
press his gratitude and begged to offer her as a token of his 
thankfulness the little table he had made, and which showed 
upon examination the star forms produced by following the 



352 THE KIN DERGARTEN. 

law of opposites, which his little boy had been taught to find 
in the kindergarten." 

"Let Us Live with Our Children/' 

"Come, let us live with our children," says Froebel. 

The science of mathematics is one in which the kinder- 
gartner must be proficient in order to comprehend the great 
underlying principle of Order and Calculation. "In sleep," 
Froebel asserts, "life reposes merely slumbering, as in num- 
ber and in counting there slumbers the highest meaning and 
importance of life." 

In the Mother-Play, the ordering or measuring of Time 

and Space is noticed in the "Tick-Tack" and "Little Thumb, 

I Say One" games. In his commentaries on the Mother-Play 

songs, Mr. Dennis' J. Snyder says of the Tick-Tack song: 

"The charm which the clock exercises over the child connects 

him with Time; he becomes aware of a great ever-flowing 

invisible stream, which bears him along from birth to death; 

a grand cataract it may be imagined between two worlds. 
* * * 

The Niagara of Time. 

"At this moment man is trying to conquer yonder physical 
Niagara, and to make it yield up its mighty energies to his 
control. The vaster Time-Niagara is whirling the little child 
down its rapids, but he, too, must start to subduing it, bend 
it to his own activity; he cannot destroy it, but he can direct 
it to his own purpose. For all human life is one grand Time- 
Niagara, falling out of one world into the other; each man 
has to shoot the cataract; how can he do it and not be lost? 
Make an early start; the infant, not yet articulating fully 
a word, begins on his mother's knee with this play-song of 
the clock ; it is the commencement of mastery. 



THE KINDERGARTEN. 353 

"Observe that it is not only about Time, but that Time 
enters into its very fabric; you cannot sing it without Time, 
which is the basis of meter and music. Sound, word, verse 
are all to be measured in this play-song, and in every other 
one for that matter; the body's movements are to be made 
rhythmical with the meter and voice; the feelings are caught 
up and attuned; the entire inner disposition of the child is 
borne forward in harmony with itself and with the Supreme 
(Order. * * * The child begins its ordered activity in mas- 
tering the divisions of Time, for Time is empty till it be filled 
with the activity of the Ego, which thus becomes Time's 
master. One thing is certain; unless the Ego rules Time, 
Time will rule it and become a terrible oppressor, for Time 
is the hardest master in the world. Ennui is the vacancy, or 
rather the death which comes from Time unfilled; unless the 
Ego impresses its own movement upon Time and fills the 
same, Time will impress its emptiness upon the Ego and re- 
duce it to the pure void. * * * 

"Space and Time are the two grand primeval chaoses into 
which the child is plunged by the very fact of birth. Both 
must be subdued, organized, utilized; they are the two wild- 
est, mightiest steeds of nature; both are to be tamed by the 
soul and hitched to her chariot for the ascent to Heaven. 
Froebel begins this process with the little child, well know- 
ing that infancy must not be lost." 

The Vast Importance of the Kindergarten. 

Parents, mothers, guardians of childhood cannot gain an 
idea of this system of developing child-life by taking a super- 
ficial glance at it. It does not consist merely of play — of 
something to entertain the child or infant. Its thorough 
educational possibilities make it a system worthy of serious 



354 THE KINDERGARTEN. 

consideration. "Every child is entitled, even in its own in- 
herent right, to nothing less than the very highest endowment 
and the most appropriate nurture," says a writer in one of 
the current periodicals. "Let right formation be the aim 
and end, and re-formation will take care of itself. The kin- 
dergarten unmistakably points to the stronger growth of the 
body, the better formation of character, the happier individual 
and the truer citizenship." 

And a writer in the Philistine says: "The kindergarten is 
the most perfect 'all-'round' training school in the world. It 
trains by wisely guided practice the five senses in the receiving 
of correct impressions ; and the ideas and forms thus taken in 
are at once expressed by both tongue and hand. Go into a 
good kindergarten and see the 'things of beauty' made by 
infants there; creations of paper as expressions of impres- 
sions of form and color and beauty entirely impossible to our 
manly and womanly 'all-thumb' fingers. The ideal kinder- 
garten is an ideal school of complete impression and complete 
expression — an ideal school of civilization. * * * * 

Teaching: Hand and Brain. 

"Hand in hand should go the development of understand- 
ing and expression from birth onward, and this double train- 
ing should not stop, as it does stop, at the first grade at the 
age of six. Why do we then stop the development of expres- 
sion by the hand, except in writing and a little drawing? 
That is, stop almost all expression, and go to 'walling up' a 
so-called trained mind away from its environment by allow- 
ing the hand to grow up 'all thumbs,' when the child with 
the 'trained mind' must, by this very hand, work out, or not 
work out, the divine conceptions of his mind? 

"Between the kindergarten and the end of his grade-school 



THE KINDERGARTEN. 355 

life there should be no change of front, but the double work 
of correlative impression and expression should go on, hand 
in hand, a just proportion of thought and its expression 
orally and manually. That amount only of thought should 
be given that can be properly expressed by its proper mode of 
expression; for when the child is grown up his worth to 
himself and to the world will be proportioned to his expres- 
sion, while the excess of unexpressed proper thought will 
be dead matter to clog his brain." 

For the purpose of awakening thought on the subject of 
training both hand and brain the following chapter is written. 



PART III. 




CHAPTER III. 

Manual Training. 

&?> 

HE culture effect of training the hand as well as 

the brain has been recognized by the most ad- 
vanced thinkers along educational lines for the past 
century or more. The great Ruskin said: "Let 
the youth once learn to take a straight shaving off a plank, 
or draw a fine curve without faltering, or lay a brick level in 
its mortar, and he has learned a multitude of other matters 
which the lips of no man could ever teach him." 

The old educational idea was to pour all kinds and conditions 
of men through one stereotyped specified course of study; to 
store the mind with facts and formulas without aiding the 
individual to express himself. Prof. David Starr Jordan 
said : "To fit man into schemes of education has been the 
mistake of the past; to fit education to man is the education 
of the future." 

The New Education. 

According to modern evolutionary philosophy mankind is 
a part of nature — one of the many forms through which the 
supreme life of the universe finds expression under laws as 
definite and marked as anywhere else in nature. While rec- 
ognizing this fact — that man as an individual is a creature 
of law throughout all the development of his powers in body, 
mind and soul, the new education also recognizes that man 

356 



MANUAL TRAINING. 357 

is a social being and that there are as definite laws underlying 
the development of human society as elsewhere in nature. 

"No truth is really our own," said Emerson, "until we 
have discovered it for ourselves." The aim, or rather the 
result of all teaching, of all learning, through language writ- 
ten or spoken, is to prepare the mind for the reception of 
truth. The fuller the preparation the more complete the un- 
derstanding of truth. Truth itself is not written or spoken. 
Truth is. It is communicated from the source of all to the 
receptive mind. When it is fully known that training which 
does not teach a child to think and judge independently is 
worthless, the way is fully opened to advancement on social 
lines. To train a child to acquire knowledge by his own 
activity was Froebel's aim. Herbert Spencer argued from 
much the same standpoint. Said he: "Children should be 
led to make their own investigations and draw their own 
inferences. They should be told as little as possible, and 
induced to discover as much as possible." He insisted that 
the real man must be reached in order to have education ben- 
efit ; that when the child is dragged away from facts in which 
he is interested and which he is actively assimilating, and 
placed in school, where he is given ideas too complex for his 
comprehension, a morbid state of mind is thereby induced, 
and a consequent disgust for all knowledge is engendered. 
When discovering ideas at first hand and making practical 
application of the same there is keen and active interest, and, 
of necessity, growth and expansion of the inherent powers. 
Under the older educational systems instruction was an arti- 
ficial, outside thing to be forced upon a child, making many 
a one practically useless as a vital factor of society. It is said 
that Horace Greeley would not allow a college man to take 
a position on the New York Tribune when he was its editor, 



358 MANUAL TRAINING. 

because he recognized the impracticability of the educational 
process through which the students were ground out. The 
new conception of education is to lead forth or draw out the 
child's nature and not to engraft knowledge upon it. 

Comprehension and Expression. 

"The human mind is capable of two things or acts — under- 
standing and expressing — receiving ideas and giving ideas," 
says a thinker on the subject of education. "An idea simply 
received into the mind or simply created there, and not ex- 
pressed, is of no value to any one except the person receiving 
or thinking it. Those ideas only have been of value to the 
human race that have found lingual or manual expression. 
It is evident that without expression we should have no great 
literary works, no great works of architecture, sculpture, mu- 
sic or painting. Thus, Art had never been born, and we 
should live, with men all around us, as much alone as was 
Robinson Crusoe on his island. 

"The mind has six ways of understanding, or of receiving 
impressions — through the five senses of seeing, hearing, tast- 
ing, smelling and feeling, and the sense of temperature. All 
we know or think or feel must necessarily come through 
these channels. They are creation's ways of placing us in 
contact with the material world around us. Without them 
we should be worse than blind, deaf and dumb. We should 
have no knowledge whatever, not only of the world around 
us, but of the fact that there is one. 

"Thus we are wisely placed, by means of these so-called 
senses, in connection with the material world around us. 
They are the adjustments between mind and matter; the 
railways of supply leading from the world into the union 
depot of the mind. Through them we understand, we -receive 
impressions. 



MANUAL TRAINING. 359 

"But Nature has not thus gifted us in the matter of expres- 
sion. She has given us but two channels of expression — the 
tongue and the hand. Except some motions, such as of 
anger and of sorrow, that may be expressed by means of the 
countenance, we can put out or express what the senses 
bring by the tongue and the hand only. Unfortunately, ciy- 
ilization has undertrained the latter, and overtrained the for- 
mer, as every day bears witness. 

" * * * ft must be evident that the great majority of 
our ideas find expression manually and not lingually, the 
tongue being able to give expression to those ideas that are 
immaterial only, while the hand may give expression to 
these and must give expression to all the other forms of 
thought; for, of course, the hand and not the tongue must 
express our thoughts in matter, and in those things that 
exist after we are gone. 

The Hand the Complement of the Mind* 

"There seems to be a necessity of manual training in all 
that the word implies, for thoughts and ideas are worthless 
to the world unless expressed in some way or other. * * * 

"I would define manual training as the cultivation of the 
hand so that it may be able to express the ideas of the mind ; 
to serve as an adjustment between mind and matter; to be 
the complement of the mind in man's struggle for the con- 
trol of his environment. 

"Nearly all human effort has been wasted because it has 
not been directed by a clearly defined rational purpose." Pur- 
poseless effort attains a desired end by accident only; effort 
directed by a well defined purpose goes straight to the de- 
sired goal. Want of purpose is the most prevalent and 
dangerous of human faults. Its presence shows advanced 



360 MANUAL TRAINING. 

civilization ; its absence shows want of civilization. Purpose- 
less effort is like shutting one's eyes when about to shoot: 
one is as likely to hit the target in one case as the other. 

"Now manual training, in the common acceptance of the 
term, has had a wrong purpose — the purpose of apprentice- 
ship. It is this purpose that needs reformation — a reforma- 
tion in accordance with the broader and truer meaning of the 
term. The purpose of manual training should be to train 
the hand to express the mind, not in one trade or line of 
work, but to express whatever the mind of the person train- 
ing is capable of thinking or conceiving; in short, to be the 
complement of the mind. 

"With this purpose in view it becomes necessary to recon- 
struct to some extent our general idea of school work. It 
will be seen that we have been training the mind and tongue, 
and not the mind, tongue and hand. The extent to which 
we have trained the hand has stopped at writing, and some 
little expression of material forms by drawing. In fact, we 
have been training 'walled-up' minds, and then locking up 
the ideas we have evolved by neglecting to train the only 
organ by which they can ever get out to the world. I think 
much of the unrest of people comes from the feeling of gen- 
eral uselessness. * * * We feel within us a something 
struggling for expression, and we cannot 'put ourselves out' 
in forms representing the thoughts that are in the brain. 

<. j[{ sjs i(C 

"We know that all great men have been great men not 
simply because they could think great thoughts, but because 
they could think and also express great thoughts. 

"Every man's value to society is exactly proportioned, not 
to his thinking power, but to his expressional power." 



MANUAL TRAINING. 361 

All-Sided Development the Hope of Mankind. 

Intelligence with the complementary power of expression 
develops taste for better things. The boy and girl whose 
training has been for all-sided development do not make 
the thief, or drunkard, or prostitute. Industry profits by 
every step in the elevation of humankind whereby each in- 
dividual recognizes his own responsibility in the weal of com- 
mon good. Thomas Jefferson said : "If a nation expects to be 
ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what 
never was and never will be." 

Better conditions make better people. But to inaugurate 
better conditions thoughtful, generous-minded people are nec- 
essary. A perfect Utopia would be a dreary waste unless a 
stimulating system of education gave us original and sym- 
pathetic men and women to live therein. 
. Education must provide more than the mere tools of ex- 
istence. What is a life that is merely housed in a physical 
body or whose thoughts and aims are merely of creature 
comfort? When a man provides clothing, food and 
shelter for his family he has but furnished the ground- 
work for the real life of the family; there is much more 
necessary. While every youth should be equipped with 
the means of earning an honest living, he should also be 
developed to know what is honest and pure and wholesome 
for his moral nature. Energy, economy and excellence are 
inevitably linked with success, and the youth must come to a 
realization of the fact that he can never do less than his best 
in order to attain to a firm position. 

The Hormony of Life. 

The idea of unification made prominent in FroebePs phil- 
osophy, if carried continuously through the grade work, en- 



362 MANUAL TRAINING. 

ables a child to make the inner life and its outward expres- 
sion harmonious. A child who can "draw a fine curve with- 
out faltering" or learns to "lay a brick level in its mortar" 
has a conception of an exact law ; such a one will never be an 
"erratic genius;" he will have the all-sided development that 
shall make him a complete man. 

A manual training school instructor, Dr. Belfield, is quoted 
as saying : "My opinion is that an hour in the shop of a well- 
conducted manual training school develops as much mental 
strength as an hour devoted to Virgil or Legendre. I am sat- 
isfied that three years of a manual training school will give 
at least as much purely intellectual growth as three years 
in the ordinary high school, because every school hour, wheth- 
er spent in the class room, the drawing room, or the shop, 
is an hour devoted to intellectual training. I am convinced 
that the manual training school boy's comprehension of some 
of the essential branches of knoAvledge will be as far superior 
to that of the ordinary high school boy's as the realization of 
the grandeur of the Alps to the man who has seen their glories 
is superior to the conception of him who has merely read of 
them." 

Intelligence and Skill. 

In addition to cultivating the intelligence, the training of 
the hand to express what the brain conceives creates skill. 
Skill increases and multiplies and produces diversity of em- 
ployment. The youth so trained has learned to think and to 
express his thoughts in things: he has mastered the great 
lesson of power in learning how to make things yield before 
his skill. The sense of capability is what does away with 
cringing cowardice. The youth knows that he knows, and is 
not afraid. 



MANUAL TRAINING. 363 

Francis A. Walker said : "If we ask a boy to take his place 
at a carpenter's bench it is not that we wish to make 
a carpenter of him, but that we wish to make him 
more of a man. We know that there is only one chance in 
fifty that he will use the saw, the chisel, the plane, the ham- 
mer as the tools by which he earns his bread; but if he has 
had proper training in their use he will carry to his work 
in life, whatever it may be, not only a better hand and a 
better eye, but also a better mind, a mind more perfectly 
filled and rounded out on all sides." 

At the present the same advantages for boys in manual 
training do not exist for girls. But the girls' time will come, 
when once the culture effect is recognized. The woman who 
cannot strike a nail straight upon the head will, in the near 
future, be a relic of the past. 

The Sloyd System, 

There is a system of training the hand in skill known as 
Sloyd work that obtains in the schools of Sweden and Fin- 
land, and which has, to some extent, been transplanted to 
the schools of the United States. In this children are engaged 
for a certain number of hours daily in making articles of 
common household use. The objects are made from draw- 
ings or models, according to exact measurement, and with 
the utmost accuracy and finish. The innate love children 
have for construction is thus engaged and develops the habits 
of self-reliance, order, accuracy, attention, etc. Muscular 
strength and skill are thus engendered and a wholesome re- 
spect for work is developed. 

Manual Training: Superseding: the Apprentice System* 

The only reason the labor of the hand has been subject, 
to derision in past times is because the brain and hand were 
not trained together. Boys were apprenticed for a certain 



364 MANUAL TRAINING. 

number of years to craftsmen and were allowed little or 
no recreation; they failed in receiving the necessary all-sided 
training, and hence the brain worked slowly, often stupidly, 
except in the one line in which they were trained. The ap- 
prenticeship system is dying out since the advent of steam- 
driven machinery. The tools are too valuable to trust to any 
but skilled hands. One writer says: "The manual train- 
ing school fills the place of the apprentice system. It much 
more than fills the place. It fills the place of the apprentice 
system as the locomotive fills the place of the stage coach. 
The apprentice in a shop is a hewer of wood and drawer 
of water, the last and least important individual in the shop. 
In the manual training school, on the contrary, the boy is the 
most important individual. He is the object for which the 
school exists. He is the material that is to be finished. In- 
stead of being left to pick up what he can, competent and in- 
telligent instructors devote themselves to his training.'' 

A man who was an apprentice and afterwards became an 
instructor in forging, vise-work and machine-tool work in 
the Boston Mechanic School, said: "It appears like throw- 
ing away two or three years of one's life to spend them in 
attaining a knowledge of a business that can be acquired by a 
proper course of instruction in sixty days, two hours each 
day. The dexterity that comes from practice 'can be reached 
as quickly after the one hundred and twenty hours' instruc- 
tion as after two or more years spent as an apprentice under 
the adverse circumstances of ordinary apprenticeship." 

Ruskin's View of Education* 

In one of Ruskin's printed lectures he speaks of being fre- 
quently consulted by parents respecting the education of their 
children. He says: "I am always struck by the precedence 



MANUAL TRAINING. 365 

which the idea of a 'position in life' takes above all other 
thoughts in the parents' minds. 'The education befitting 
such and such a station in life' — this is the phrase; this the 
object always. They never seek, as far as I can find out, an 
education good in itself. * * * It never seems to oc- 
cur to the parents that there may be an education which, in 
itself, is advancement in Life; that any other than that may 
perhaps be advancement in Death; and that this essential 
education might be more easily got or given than they fancy 
if they set about it in the right way ; while it is for no price 
and by no favor to be got if they set about it in the wrong.' ' 
The right training for the young of the present we be- 
lieve to be that which cultivates the mind and tongue and 
hand — that which gives expression to all the culture the brain 
is capable of receiving. Hitherto those whose minds have 
been cultivated have neglected their hands; and those who 
have labored with muscle found no opportunity to cultivate 
the brain. 

The Skillful Hand and the Cultured Brain* 

It is not assumed for an instant that every child, who re- 
ceives manual training will gain his livelihood by that 
means. Some there will be whose natural inclination will 
lead them into other paths. In which case it can never be 
argued that one is less efficient as a physician, lawyer, teach- 
er, writer, or what not, because of the training of the hand. 
All gain morally and intellectually by experience in contact 
with things. The young person who grows into a profes- 
sional life will be glad of the skill of hand for his recreation. 
Such a one will, no doubt, be more domestically inclined 
than the professional who has missed this phase of develop- 
ment, and will, in his leisure, plan for the improvement of 



366 MANUAL TRAINING. 

home surroundings. The one whose lifework is from among 
the mechanic arts will require recreation of a mental nature, 
but will be accurate and orderly in his home life because 
accuracy and order have been part of his development. Ev- 
erything will be better planned and better executed because 
of all-sided development, such as was outlined by Froebel for 
the very young, and which should never be discontinued 
through life. Many have been, and yet are, kept down by 
want of skill, but no cases are known of failure to rise be- 
cause of it. Failures sometimes result from lack of concen- 
tration on a given line of work; this is true only of the per- 
son who has failed to find the work in the doing of which 
his inner self finds joy. Work merely for the sake of what 
it brings in dollars and cents and material advancement is 

not the work which belongs to the person who executes it. 

i 
When youth are trained that all necessary work is as hon- 
orable as any part of it, when the whole nature of man is 
evenly balanced, there will be no looking down upon the 
labor of the hand. The skill of the hand will be directed 
by the cultured brain. It will be as the painter said when 
asked what he mixed with his colors. "Brains," was the re- 
ply. Concentrated attention to any work shows superior 
results when there is a trained avenue of expression; and 
the active mind is always seeking means of improvement. 
This distinguishes from the plodder, who "lets well enough 
alone." The man who was content to sharpen pins very 
well was found at the closing of his days yet sharpening 
pins at the same wages. 

The Joy of Finished Work*, 

Dr. Felix Adler Says that the moral benefits of manual 
training can only be reached by making complete articles. 



MANUAL TRAINING. 367 

"Pupils should never make heads of pins or the ninetieth 
fraction of a shoe." It fails in balancing the faculties. "Any- 
thing complete, rounded, full, exact, gives pleasure," says 
another; "anything slovenly, slipshod, unfinished, is discour- 
aging. God has mixed a feeling of content with everything 
finished. A man who has learned to do a thing well enjoys 
doing it. This is the lure which wise Nature uses to lead 
us to finish our work." 

As everything animate and inanimate bears certain relation 
to everything else, it is easy for the mind trained to calcula- 
tion to see the legitimate results of certain activities. He 
recognizes that "as ye sow, so shall ye reap," and consequent- 
ly will not plant "wild oats" and then call it ill luck when the 
fruits of the sowing are bad. 

Manual training will not make an exceptionally bright child 
out of one who has not had its "birthright of being well- 
born," but, for the inherent character possessed, will give an 
even development. Even in such there will not be the mental 
incoherency that produces criminals. Ruskin, the truth of 
whose philosophy few will combat, says : "How many soever 
you may find or fancy your faults to be, there are only two 
that are of real consequence — Idleness and Cruelty." It 
does not require a very mature brain that has had proper 
culture to see that idleness and cruelty are not profitable or 
even pleasurable. In intelligence lies the safety, not only 
of individuals, but of the commonwealth. 

In closing, the following is selected from the writings of 
one much interested in the development of the young and 
who believes the manual training school solves many prob- 
lems: 



368 MANUAL TRAINING. 

The Dream of Poesy* 

"Ignorance and discomfort go -together. Intelligence and 
comfort go together. With increase of intelligence comes 
increase of comfort. 

"Only a few centuries ago nearly everybody was ignorant 
and nearly everybody was poor and uncomfortable. Com- 
fort was the exception; hunger and nakedness were the rule. 
The sun shone then as brightly as it does now, and the earth 
was as teeming and fruitful then as now. Our ancestors got 
less out of it than we, because they knew less than we. We 
get more out of the earth than they did, because we know 
more than they did. 

"The way comfort has increased with intelligence proves 
that there is in this world an abundance for all who are fitted 
to get their share. One reason that so many people are un- 
comfortable is that they are not .fitted by their training to 
get their share of the good things of this world. With better 
training we should have a more comfortable world. With 
each step towards better training we shall have a more com- 
fortable world. 

"The individual requires intelligence to hold his own in 
the world, and our government requires intelligence, not only 
in the few, but in the many. Having solved the problem of 
managing a state without a king at the top, we now find that 
the ignorant man at the bottom is almost as much of a nuis- 
ance as was the king. We find that we are governed by 
the ignorant man quite as much as we are by the intelligent 
man; and rather more, because the ignorant man likes to 
govern us and he is willing and can afford to devote all his 
time and attention to it. 

"Our problem is at all hazards to get rid of the ignorant 




INNOCENCE— C. H. Anderson. 










*-"& 





KISS ME QUICK"— R. Epp. 



MANUAL TRAINING. 369 

man. The most ignorant man in the state has a vote that 
counts for as much as the vote of the most intelligent man. 
What the most intelligent man wants to accomplish for the 
good of everybody cannot be done until a sufficient number 
of ignorant men are convinced that it will not hurt them; 
because not until they are convinced can a majority be got 
to vote for it. 

"As the strength of the chain is only equal to that of its 
weakest link, so the action of the government is constantly 
kept down towards the level of the most ignorant man in the 
state. I would not, on that account, deprive the ignorant 
man of his vote. Deprived of his vote he would be a man 
with a just grievance. In comparison with him all the 
other people in the state would be a privileged class. No, I 
would not deprive the ignorant man of his vote. But I 
would so arrange things that his boys and girls would get 
the benefit of the manual training school. As to the ignor- 
ant man himself, eventually he would die, and under the 
circumstances his kind would die out. 

"Self-government was easily possible for the forty-one men 
who landed on Plymouth Rock, because they were intelli- 
gent men. Had they been ignorant men self-government 
would have been full of difficulty for them. Ignorance be- 
comes lawless and riots under circumstances under which in- 
telligence discusses and convinces others, or is itself convinced 
and holds its peace. Ignorance is the arch-enemy of self- 
government. If self-government is to flourish, ignorance 
must go. Self-government implies that all men must rule, 
all men must be trained so as to be fit to rule. For its own 
preservation and perpetuation self-government requires the 
highest possible elevation of all men. What fresh air and 
food are to the human body the school and printing press 



370 MANUAL TRAINING. 

are to self-government. Untrained brain power is wasted 
brain power, and self-government cannot afford to let brain 
power be wasted. * * * 

"Smiling, Loving, Happy Homes." 

"From Jamestown and Plymouth Rock down to the present 
moment the loftiest American thought is that in this country 
there shall be at the earliest possible moment, free of charge, 
for every child on the soil the highest and best and most 
practical training the child can take and the world can give. 
The dream of commerce and industry is a land full of good 
customers. The dream of patriotism is a land full of free, 
intelligent and independent citizens. The dream of poesy 
is a land full of smiling, loving, happy homes. The dream 
of commerce and industry, the dream of patriotism and the 
dream of poesy are all the same dream." — An Ounce of Pre- 
vention. 



PART IV 



HEALTH and HYGIENE 



PRACTICAL LESSONS FROM A COMMON-SENSE 
SCHOOL OF MEDICAL SCIENCE. 



"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," 



PART IV- 



CHAPTER I. 




Long Life Not a Secret* 

HE length of life allotted to man, as mentioned in 
the Scriptures and usually accepted as estab- 
lished, is seventy years. But this is not irrevoca- 
ble, for few of the many born live to that age, 
and many live beyond. This particular age has only 
been hit upon as a sort of average; strictly it is not 
even that, as so many children die under five years of age. 
But it is the period which every healthily born, normal being 
should reach, if no violence befall him. Scientists, who measure 
longevity by the various epochs in our growth and decline, de- 
clare that a century is the normal duration of man's existence 
on earth. But really the length of life cannot as yet be esti- 
mated, for we do not know to what extent we may be able 
to preserve our powers, nor how much we may accomplish by 
using our universal life forces to renew our energies. As long 
as the waste of life does not exceed the renewing process, we 
may live and exercise all our faculties. With a good constitu- 
tion, no heritage of bad traits or weakness, an obedience to the 
laws of health and happiness, there is no need of placing a 
limit to the length of man's earthly existence. There should 
be time enough to develop one's capabilities, time enough to 
acquire a knowledge of earth's resources, time enough to ex- 
haust the range of earthly experiences. 

373 



374 LONG LIFE NOT A SECRET. 

Rational Methods of Living* 

To be able to live a long, useful and happy life, one must 
study rational methods of living. The best and most reason- 
able process of preserving strength and health should be made 
part of the general education. From trustworthy statistics it 
is ascertained that man, at the present time, reaches the zenith 
of his mental and physical powers between the ages of fifty- 
six and sixty-five. If he understands the laws of life he 
should not deteriorate for thirty or forty years. It is known, 
too, that he need not lose any mechanical skill or artistic abil- 
ity he may have acquired until long past the term of life which 
has been accorded him as his limit. 

Michael Angelo was still giving to the world samples of his 
finest work at eighty-eight. Milton, lacking one sense by 
which men enrich their powers, did his best work at the age 
of fifty-seven, while Johnson manifested his highest abilities 
at seventy-two. In looking over the dates at which our great- 
est scientists and philosophers have achieved their best tasks, 
we see that they were at their height a long time past what is 
usually considered middle age. Darwin was sixty-two years 
old when his last, best work was finished ; Spencer, beyond the 
three score years and ten, was still the greatest philosopher 
the world has ever known; Gladstone, Bismarck and many 
another gladiator in the great sociological arena gave proof of 
their unfailing vigor after the four-score year-mark was at- 
tained. Leo XIII. at more than four score and ten was not 
only the efficient head of the Roman church, but a marvel of 
physical, mental and intellectual activity. The long active 
lives of these men prove that our faculties need not fail us 
with the flight of time. Simple living, high mental and moral 
aspirations, lively interest in and keen sympathy with the 
movements of humanity, will preserve the freshness and vital- 



LONG LIFE NOT A SECRET. 375 

ity of youth down to the last days of a well spent century. 
We waste too much energy in our younger days, need- 
lessly and uselessly. When men and women do not do this, 
they find that they possess a sufficient energy for emergen- 
cies even in advanced old age. Nearly all nervous waste is 
avoidable. Over-work, over-eating, dissipation, unnecessary 
exposures and insufficient nourishment wear out the vital 
forces and decrease the energies which ought to carry exist- 
ence further on. Idleness, inertness, lack of proper ambition, 
dull our faculties and leave us rusting away. Excessive ex- 
ercise apparently strengthens for the time, but generally does 
so at the expense of one's vitality. Trained athletes do not 
often reach the age of sixty, the nervous force being dimin- 
ished by too rigorous exercise in youth. 

During the civil war, observation proved that those sol- 
diers could best bear the hardships of war, such as exposure 
to cold and wet, fatigue, lack of sleep, hunger, etc., who had 
lived moderate lives, enjoyed some leisure, good food and 
comfortable surroundings. These were found among the 
middle classes, the denizens of cities and villages. Men raised 
on farms, men accustomed to hard labor from childhood, 
work-hands from mills and mines, for all their apparent ro- 
bustness, succumbed more quickly and in larger numbers to 
the privations of military life. Their stores of vital force 
had been impaired by the reckless drafts made upon them in 
earlier life. 

The foundation of a long and happy life must be laid at 
the beginning, indeed it should be based on the lines of several 
generations behind us, for a great deal depends on the physi- 
cal and mental attributes of our ancestors. We should, then, 
understand that we can economize our vital energies, and that 
the length and usefulness of our years are in our own keeping. 



376 LONG LIFE NOT A SECRET. 

If we study into the secrets of life, and are valiant and strong 
enough to thoroughly control our habits, our appetites and 
desires, if we determine to be more the master than the crea- 
ture of circumstances, we may govern the term of life as well 
as the manner of it. 

Nature and the Will. 

It is wrong to be sick, ailing, inadequate for the activities 
of human existence. Much depends upon what we will to 
be, and on our will being in accordance with the laws of na- 
ture. Nature always resists disease, and goes about her work 
of healing as soon as conditions will permit. A calm, well 
balanced frame of mind, the needful rest, the right amount of 
nourishment, pure air and cleanliness will almost always in- 
sure speedy recovery if no organ of the body is seriously 
wasted or injured. Medicine alone does not cure. It may 
bring the organism into a condition wherein the healing pro- 
cess may proceed ; it may banish the consciousness of pain 
which may be so intense as to interfere with the restoring 
work of Nature — though pain itself is an evidence of Nature's 
endeavors to cure — but it cannot do the work itself. The flow 
of life forces accomplishes that. 

We must learn to live naturally if we would make the most 
and best of ourselves. We should eat simple food — that 
which a normal appetite most desires — and we should eat in 
moderation, never greedily or hastily. We should sleep as 
much as nature seems to demand, and no more. We should 
breathe correctly, in a way which experience and observation 
prove are most conducive to health and strength — therefore 
most natural. We must labor and exercise enough each day to 
keep our living machinery in good order; we must keep our 
bodies clean; we must wear such clothing and live under such 



LONG LIFE NOT A SECRET. 377 

shelter as reason and experience convince us are best for our 
welfare. We must feel kindly toward all mankind, and we 
must dwell upon the most hopeful and promising aspects of 
our external conditions, keep cheerful and avoid all needless 
worry, anxiety, or feelings of anger, jealousy or revenge. 

An indulgence of acquired appetites or inherited abnormal 
tastes has a tendency to shorten life. But the natural, healthy 
man may satisfy his ordinary appetites as he will and feel 
no evil effects. A person starting out with a strong constitu- 
tion, living under favorable conditions, may live to a hearty 
old age and tell us that he has followed no special rules in 
eating, drinking, exercising and resting, but has trusted to the 
instinctive demands of his nature. Where nothing had ever 
come to pervert the appetites and desires, these could be de- 
pended upon. In a case of this kind, it would probably be 
discovered that the habits and mode of life were those which 
the combined wisdom of all the past and present pronounce 
helpful and natural. 

Those who have lived wholesome, natural lives for a num- 
ber of years, find, when the emergency arises, that they can 
endure a season of hardships better than one who has weak- 
ened his constitution either by over-indulgence or by over- 
work and insufficient or unwholesome food. Such a one can 
face the influence of an unhealthful climate, of poor food and 
unusual exertion, without being appalled. His reserved 
strength and vitality, especially if he brings a brave demeanor 
and a cheerful, determined mind to bear upon the situation, 
will carry him through any ordinary trial. The one who 
habitually lives according to Nature's laws, may, if he brings 
a peaceful, confident mind to the occasion, safely eat bad food 
or none, for a time, endure cold and wet and hard work, and 
suffer little or not at all. 



378 LONG LIFE NOT A SECRET. 

People do live under conditions which are startlingly un- 
favorable up to and past middle age. They astonish others 
by the great amount of work they perform, by the little sleep 
they take, by the coarse food upon which they manage to sub- 
sist ; they seem hardy and tough, but a sudden collapse is sure 
to come before the time allotted for a natural life. They have 
lived on their capital of health and strength, and suddenly 
they meet the appalling realization that they are bankrupt. 
They can make no assignment and begin over, for each indi- 
vidual possesses only his own portion of vital power. When 
once destroyed or wasted it cannot be restored. 

True it is that economic conditions at present do not allow 
men and women to live as they should. The majority of peo- 
ple work too hard and are forced to subsist on too little; they 
have no means of cultivating their mental and moral natures ; 
they breathe poisoned air, and they cannot keep their clothes 
and their bodies clean. But in Nature's domain there is no real 
lack. She furnishes food in abundance in return for a little 
labor; she affords fresh, pure air, earth space, beauty, joy. 
Only through man's bad management is there an apparent lack 
of any of these things, for never has humanity pressed too 
closely upon her bounteous resources. Man can restore the 
equilibrium of demand and supply if he will. If the minds of 
the people everywhere will comprehend that each and every 
one. has the right of access to Nature's gifts, and that such 
restoration must and shall be made, it will be done. How, this 
is not the time to try to tell. Thought force has accomplished 
all that civilization boasts of today. It can accomplish much 
more if directed right. 

Too much luxury and too little work are as bad as want and 
too much toil. The rich man or woman who has only to con- 
jure^up a new sensation, new appetites to gratify, is no nearer 



LONG LIFE NOT A SECRET. 379 

health and true happiness than the toiler whose products he 
enjoys. The out-of-work man who is denied a chance to labor 
has even a better show, for he lives close to Nature, because 
he must. 

Making: the Best of Life* 

But every one can make the very best of his opportunities. 
He may believe that life is not so full of happiness that he 
cares to prolong it, but he should remember this : that while 
he lives he will enjoy more happiness and confer much more 
happiness on others if he is well and cheerful and in posses- 
sion of all his faculties unimpaired. There was once a time 
when it was considered commendable to be sick; it indicated 
delicacy, and called forth the active sympathies of friends to 
the extent that an invalid was quite a sovereign in a household. 
But we know today there is nothing honorable in being sick. 
Indeed it is something to be ashamed of ; for willingly or un- 
willingly, knowingly or ignorantly, some of Nature's laws 
have been broken, and one is paying the penalty. We have 
no right to inflict ourselves helpless, weak and despondent 
upon our fellow beings, if we can possibly avoid it. Still, if 
one must be ill, it does not better matters to pine and lament 
that one must be a burden. Receive the loving care of friends 
cheerfully and frankly, and encourage them by your own 
lightheartedness in accepting the situation. The world is be- 
ginning to acknowledge that one's greatest happiness is found 
in what one bestows upon others, not in what one takes from 
them. And the good one can do, the happiness that may be 
conferred upon others, the peace we may ourselves know in 
the course of a long, active, wholesome life are incalculable. 
To live rationally, to preserve all the faculties at their best, 
down to the last, is worthy of one's best and highest en- 
deavors. 



380 LONG LIFE NOT A SECRET. 

The young are usually happy in their very inexperience. 
The vital forces pulse through their veins with the delightful 
spring of youth, and their spirits bound with eagerness and 
anticipations of the beautiful, untried world before them. The 
older people should find happiness in sympathizing with and 
sharing their pleasures; they should know how to direct and 
restrain amiably and agreeably, and to give them the benefits 
of their richer experience without autocratically reproaching 
them for their ignorance and heedless errors. A natural leader 
will be willingly followed, while a domineering ruler will 
arouse feelings of resentment and rebellion. One who is dog- 
matic in giving instructions concerning eating, drinking and 
physical exercise is seldom heeded. Courteous, kindly sug- 
gestions are wiser and more effectual. 

One may determine early in life to keep young in feeling, 
interests and sympathies, and if these resolutions are firmly ad- 
hered to, until the habit of cheerfulness is well established, 
others will never remember that he or she is growing old. 
Women have preserved their loveliness and attractiveness 
until past the age of eighty ; and men have drawn about them 
the Brightest minds of their day, all eager to listen to the rich 
and lofty sentiments of well stored minds, until the last years 
of a century of useful life closed upon them. These enviable 
characters have ever been genial, simple in their tastes and 
habits, sympathetic, progressive. Their minds are never al- 
lowed to ossify, nor their bodies to decay. To show what 
women may be throughout a long, lovely life, we give this il- 
lustration : 

Jane Clermont, that beautiful woman beloved by Byron and 
adored by Shelley, died not far from ninety years of age. 
Her eyes, her figure, her color and teeth remained perfect, 
her abundant hair, whitened by the years, only made her the 



LONG LIFE NOT A SECRET. 381 

lovelier, and she was charming in her manners always. 
Throughout her long life she invariably ate sparingly, and 
only simple foods, and she went out every day; above all, she 
always maintained a keen interest in youthful persons, and 
delighted in fresh and fine thoughts, whether they were ex- 
pressed in books or conversation. Indeed, she was to the very 
last a most fascinating companion for both the young and 
the mature. It never occurred to those about her that she was 
not as young as they. Her society was so eagerly sought that 
she was compelled to deny herself daily to an access of visitors 
who were anxious to enjoy her brilliant conversation, infec- 
tious laughter and graceful personality. She always reserved 
an hour in every day for solitude and absolute repose of mind 
and body. 



PART IV. 



CHAPTER II. 




forces 



"Breath is Life/ 1 

ND He breathed into his nostrils the breath of 
life; and man became a living soul." 

Breath is life. To breathe is to live, and all 
things that live breathe inwardly the great living 
the universe, and outwardly the matter that 
has done its work and is sent back into the great reservoir 
of life to be renewed. The trees and plants take in the gra- 
cious air, the very earth breathes, and the ocean swells and 
subsides in rhythmic movements. To know how to breathe 
in the fullest sense is to be well and happy and strong. 

People who live close to Nature breathe more correctly and 
are less liable to disease than the civilized who have not 
learned that true enlightenment takes us back again to Na- 
ture's methods. The North American Indians habitually 
"keep their mouths shut," and are therefore among the hardi- 
est races in the world. They breathe deeply and fill their 
lungs with every breath ; and health and strength flow in with 
the pure air they absorb. 

Correct Breathing the Basis of Bodily Health* 

We possess a proper organ for breathing, and it should be 
used. The mouth was never intended for that purpose, and 
incalculable evils result from this misuse of it. It has been 
found that Nature provides an arrangement of fibers for 

382 



"BREATH IS LIFE!' 383 

straining the air before it is permitted to touch the sensitive 
linings of the head passages, throat and lungs. These fibers 
grow inward toward one another and prevent the entrance of 
the minute, invisible enemies to health which seek to find 
lodgement in our bodies. The natural warmth of the nose 
moderates the temperature of the air in cold weather, and is in 
every way so finely constructed for its purpose that in its 
proper use health and a long life may be secured with little aid 
from drugs or other outside props and supports. 

The people of the East believe they can solve the secrets of 
life and learn to control all matter by learning to breathe 
aright. The Yogi breathing is a part of a course of discipline 
by which the "adepts" attain their mastery over natural forces. 
Their peculiar breathing exercises are practiced daily; they 
can send the breath to any part of the body, and bring about 
such effects as they will. They believe that there is more in 
common air than a mere combination of oxygen, hydrogen 
and nitrogen ; that by rhythmical breathing one brings himself 
into harmonious vibrations with the higher powers, and the 
essence of life itself can be grasped. They can, by a long 
course of breathing exercises, banish sickness, sorrow, evil 
and despondency, and can control, in time, not only themselves, 
but matter and the forces by which matter is moved. A num- 
ber of people in this country have taken up the study and prac- 
tice of Yogi breathing, with, they claim, remarkable results. 

A prominent physician has written a large book on cor- 
rect breathing. He claims that on the manner of breathing 
depend not only our health, strength and happiness, but our 
morals, our spiritual growth, our powers of self-control, even 
the duration of life as far as we will to live. All the universe 
vibrates, and if we would be attuned to its higher forces, we 
must learn to vibrate, through breathing, harmoniously with 
their vibrations. 



384 "BREATH IS LIFE." 

Whether true or not that all may be gained which the oc- 
cults claim, it can be demonstrated that correct breathing is the 
basis of healthy living. George Catlin, who spent thirty years 
among the North American Indians and knows probably more 
about the habits and customs of aboriginal tribes than any 
other man living, says that civilized man owes to his unnat- 
ural modes of breathing the readiness with which he contracts 
all kinds of contagious diseases. He has written a work enti- 
tled, "Shut Your Mouth and Save Your Life." He says in 
this book that, ignorant as the squaw mother is of what con- 
stitutes the knowledge pertaining to civilization, she seems to 
know intuitively that the nose is a protection to the delicate 
inner passages, and should be used to breathe through. The 
first discipline of the little pappoose is to prevent the lazy 
drooping of the lips, and to compel it to breathe through the 
nostrils. She tips the head forward and covers the mouth 
when the child is asleep, and gives him instructions as soon as 
he is old enough to understand. 

The majority of contagious diseases, as well as colds, ca- 
tarrh and malarial affections, may be avoided to a great ex- 
tent by keeping the mouth closed whenever it is necessary to 
inhale impure air. People should not talk in an atmosphere 
freighted with impurities, or when its temperature is very low. 
They should not only breathe through the nostrils, but should 
overcome any habit of allowing the lips to drop apart, for it 
allows a ready ingress for microbes or poisonous or foreign 
atoms which may be floating in the air, especially where dust 
is flying about. It affects the expression of the face, unpleas- 
antly suggesting ill-breeding or an intellectual lack of some 
kind. 

Breathing through the mouth is most dangerous at night, 
when noxious gases most abound, and there is no sunlight to 





mm 



AW 
Mr ■ 



v** r*f 




THE SILHOUETTE— Aug. Mandlich. 




THE BILLET DOUX— E. Munier. 



"BREATH IS LIFE? 385 

dispel them; cold is felt more keenly at that time and the 
dampness is more irritating. If the determined will is not 
sufficient to insure correct breathing through the hours of 
sleep, a pillow should be arranged so as to tip the head for- 
ward, or a bandage placed over the mouth. A thorough 
course of self-discipline may be necessary to fix the habit of 
correct breathing, especially if there is an inherited tendency, 
strengthened by custom, to breathe carelessly with the mouth 
open. But the effort will be well worth while for the added 
health, beauty and vitality acquired. It has been ascertained 
by the observation and experience of army and navy officers 
that men who habitually sleep with the mouth open are much 
more subject to contagious diseases than those who do not. 
Indeed, in one instance, where a man-of-war was stationed 
near a far-away coast, and the small-pox became epidemic, 
only the sailors who had never been trained to shut the lips in 
breathing succumbed to the disease. 

Correct Breathing* 

Deep and regular breathing promotes good health, and is a 
strengthener for the weak. It expands the lungs and fills out 
the chest, while more oxygen and ozone are carried into the 
body. Short, gasping, uneven breaths are hurtful; they keep 
the nerves in a tumult, and keep up a discord in the system. 
The organism cannot adjust itself to spasmodic breathing, and 
the calm, confident poise so necessary to good health and 
happiness cannot be attained. Adepts in breathing attach 
great importance to regular respiration. 

By breathing slowly, evenly and deeply for twenty minutes 
or half an hour, when one feels the symptoms of a severe cold 
coming on, an attack of pleurisy, congestion of the lungs, 
or even pneumonia, may be entirely thrown off. One should 



386 "BREATH IS LIFE." 

sit comfortably in a reclining chair, the shoulders well back, the 
hands folded in the lap, the muscles of the limbs wholly re- 
laxed ; one should then inhale deeply, slowly, through the nose, 
and exhale in the same manner, at regular intervals. The air 
should be as pure and fresh as it is possible to obtain, and not 
warmer or much colder than 68 degrees. The lungs will, by 
this exercise, be able to clear themselves of foreign matter, 
and the muscles of the chest regain their flexibility. This is 
one of Nature's remedies, and, when her laws have not been 
too violently entrenched upon, is the best of cures. 

A fine exercise for the preservation of health and the gain- 
ing of additional vigor is to fill the lungs with fresh air every 
morning and evening in this manner: Stand erect, with the 
heels together and the toes pointing outward, the knees stiff 
and the arms hanging with inclosed hands close to the side. 
The shoulders should be thrown back as far as possible, the 
chin held up to stretch the neck, and the lips should be firmly 
closed. In this position, raise the body slowly upon the toes, 
inhaling deliberately; maintain the attitude as long as it is not 
uncomfortable, then slowly sink and exhale the breath. Do 
this once more by standing on the right foot alone, then the 
left. This exercise includes but three long breaths, which are 
perhaps sufficient for beginners. As one grows more accus- 
tomed to it, the exercise may be repeated three or four times. 
An Indian might run a mile, or a denizen of the forest chop 
down a tree before breakfact, to obtain the same results, but 
the town and city resident, accustomed to sedentary pursuits, 
will find this sufficiently difficult at first. 

Many afflictions, not generally supposed to be connected 
with the manner of breathing, may be traced to bad habits 
in taking one's necessary oxygen, such as the bad formation 
and arrangement of teeth, their decay, facial neuralgia, etc. 



"BREATH IS LIFE." 387 

The gums, teeth and tongue become too dry during the hours 
of sleep if the mouth is kept open, and various diseases of 
those organs are brought on. 

Let us strive to secure pure, fresh, deep, regular breaths of 
air for each moment as it passes ; then may we pray with a 
clear conscience for our "daily bread." For next in import- 
ance to breathing is the nourishment that sustains our bodies 
in the activities of daily life. Pure air and pure food and our 
manner of taking them are wonderfully significant in preserv- 
ing health and vitality. 



PART IV. 




CHAPTER III. 
How, When and What to Eat. 

^OME eminent physicians have declared that the 
quality of food does not matter so much as the 
/C ^ quantity and the manner of eating. One has 
^ said: "Even the widest selection of food is 
inoperative as a remedy for our bodily ills, without 
due care and deliberation in mastication, and also a proper 
mental mood for eating." Many people have become con- 
vinced in recent years that in general we eat too much. In 
this one particular we cannot take the natural man, the savage 
or the Indian, as a model ; for the more civilized and enlight- 
ened a man is in its true sense, the less is he likely to gor- 
mandize. 

The refined and cultured eat simply and sparingly, never of 
heavy, rich foods, though a class of fashionable, self-indulgent 
people may still consider it luxurious and proper to dine on 
elaborate, highly seasoned dishes to the point of gluttony. 
They have but gone back to the habits of primeval man, who 
gorged, when he might, until he could no longer move, and 
required his women to feed him. But this creature could fast 
for days, if it was necessary, and suffer no inconvenience. Nat- 
ural man would have acquired more rational methods of eat- 
ing had the supplies of food been constant and regular. But 
in the days when their fortunes in the chase or on fishing ex- 

388 



HOW, WHEN AND WHAT TO EAT. 389 

peditions must determine their supply of provisions their sys- 
tems were compelled to adapt themselves to the conditions; 
they learned to eat enormously when they had food, and to 
fast patiently when it could not be secured. 

Men of the middle ages, when the militant spirit was most 
dominant, were little better. In the long, terrible wars, when 
food was often a matter of chance, or depended upon the suc- 
cess or failure of armies, men ate, when the opportunity pre- 
sented itself, as long as anything remained. The literature 
of less than two hundred years ago gives us pictures of gigan- 
tic feasts where whole oxen, sheep, pigs, roasted to a turn 
and flanked by flagons of strong ale, adorned the table; we 
are told how men ate and drank until they fell to the floor to 
sleep away the effects of their gluttony. Indeed, but one or 
two generations ago the virtue of hospitality was to tempt the 
guest to eat to his fullest capacity, and the test of manliness 
was to be able to swallow anything and everything set before 
one. Only within the last century have moderation and 
method in eating been seriously taken up in a scientific man- 
ner. The tendency has been in the past, when disgust has 
sprung up from over-eating, to go to the other extreme and 
eat coarse and unpalatable foods in most abstemious quanti- 
ties. But this is as bad as too much indulgence. There is 
consistency in all things, and there must be a rational, logical 
theory of nourishment which can be reduced to a practical 
system. 

We might depend upon our normal appetites, only that the 
mixture of races, the complicated foods, the bad habits of an 
over-heated civilization, have deprived us of normal appe- 
tites. We can only judge by experience and observation after 
long years what kinds of food are best calculated to promote 
vigor and the normal action of all the organs. Even when we 



390 HOW, WHEN AND WHAT TO EAT. 

discover what is in general best adapted to human require- 
ments, we do not know what varieties suit different individ- 
uals, and this must be discovered by each for himself. Exper- 
iments should be made rationally, however, with the aid of 
such knowledge as has been gained by others, in regard to the 
effects of various foods and the peculiar elements needed by 
one's system. Age, occupation, inherited tendencies, temper- 
ament should be taken into account, or one's experiments may 
result in discomfort, shattered health and loss of vitality. 

Three Safe Rules in Eating* 

Aside from the kinds of food to be eaten, there are three 
rules that can be safely adhered to by every one. 

One is not to eat too much — to cease eating before the feel- 
ing of being filled to repletion is reached. 

The second is to eat slowly, in a calm state of mind, and 
masticate every mouthful thoroughly. 

The third is never to eat and drink at the same time. Ani- 
mals do not drink when they eat, and our reason should guide 
us, if instinct does not. The desire to drink while eating 
comes from a hurried, nervous gulping of food. If one had 
all his life eaten deliberately, chewing so slowly that the nat- 
ural flow of saliva sufficiently moistened the tongue and 
throat and the food, he would probably never thirst for drink 
while eating ; but generations of perverted habits have changed 
the natural appetite, and it cannot now be depended on to al- 
ways direct aright. 

Even as it is, it is safer to trust to a child's appetite than 
to an unscientific mother's arbitrary decisions. Many house- 
wives consider discipline, or the carrying out of their own 
theories in regard to nourishment, more important than their 
children's taste. They provide what is most convenient to 



HOW, WHEN AND WHAT TO EAT. 391 

themselves or what they believe is best for their children, and, 
though their palates may rebel, the little ones are compelled to 
eat it. To force a child to eat food it does not want is cruel 
at the time and often results in irremediable consequences later 
on. It is wise to withhold certain things known to be injuri- 
ous, for the child can have no definite craving for something 
it has never tasted — only a general curiosity to experiment on 
whatever it sees. But it should never be forced to eat what is 
distasteful to it. Many children die young solely from the 
conscientious but unwise course of mothers ; others go through 
life with impaired constitutions, debarred forever from the 
enjoyments of good health. 

Variety in Food Desirable* 

We have grown to be a complex people. We are the de- 
scendants of many different nationalities, each possessing dif- 
ferent tastes according to the climate, products and necessities 
of their country. Our own climate is variable, our products in- 
finite in kinds and quantities; we have developed capricious, 
discriminating tastes, and we do not thrive on any one diet, 
as do, for instance, the eastern people, who can subsist on rice 
day in and day out all their lives. They wonder at us that we 
pander to our comprehensive tastes, and cite their own simple 
living and natural lives as examples of wisdom. But they 
forget that while in their country custom, climate and caste 
have fixed the taste in food for centuries, we are a mixture 
of nearly all the nations of the earth, inheriting their natural 
and cultivated tastes, while our commercial systems have 
brought the foodstuffs of the world to our own doors and bade 
us choose among them. We would no longer thrive on one 
or two articles of food, and experience and reason teach that 
variety in food enhances our welfare. 



392 HOW, WHEN AND WHAT TO EAT. 

Still it is possible to modify and simplify our diet, if it has 
been too rich, too complex or too heavy. Culinary art has 
heretofore run too much to decoration, and to toothsome del- 
icacies calculated to tempt satiated appetites. There are visi- 
ble signs that in the near future cooking will be studied as a 
science, and more regard will be paid to suitability, proper 
chemical changes, wholesomeness, than to richness, elabora- 
tion and the exciting of abnormal appetites. We will eat more 
simply when that time comes, but our tables will look more 
beautiful. For what is more artistic than the commingling 
of fruits in a natural state, nuts, crisp, tender vegetables, and 
light grain cakes formed from scientifically prepared flour ? 

But whatever changes we make must be made gradually and 
carefully. Sudden alterations may cause disturbances in the 
system difficult to overcome. The body, after having adapted 
itself to a certain diet, does not readily adjust its functions to 
an entirely new course. Each one must be guided by his own 
judgment and knowledge of his body's needs, not by what 
fashion or theories dictate. Corn-meal is liked and easily 
assimilated by some, while to others it is heating and indi- 
gestible. Graham has been considered wholesome, as it was 
thought to maintain a natural condition of the alimentary pas- 
sages. But this is a mistake. The fine edges of the grain cut 
lightly into the delicate surfaces of the viscera, causing a 
moisture to exude which facilitates the passage of digested 
and undigested food. So great are the healing properties of 
the natural forces that no injury seems to result for many 
years. But the damage manifests itself sooner or later, 

Vegetarianism* 

Vegetarianism benefits some people, but it should not be 
insisted upon, for our minds are various and complex, and 



HOW, WHEN AND WHAT TO EAT. 393 

fruits and vegetables do not always furnish all that the sys- 
tem requires. The animals digest several varieties of vegeta- 
bles which we could not assimilate, and their flesh contains 
the results of processes not possible to us. But all meat should 
be thoroughly masticated. The importance of this cannot be 
overestimated. Only when the digestive organs are worn out 
trying to pulverize tough flesh fibers, and it is too late, do 
many of us realize this. 

Never urge the appetite; follow its leadings as it is unper- 
verted. Take no "appetizers," and do not crowd the stomach. 
It is best, as a usual thing, to eat sparingly of sugar and 
candy. On account of the starch contained in bread, sedentary 
people should eat little of it. We should not chill our stom- 
achs with iced drinks or flush them with hot washes. And 
while we still adhere to the custom of putting into ourselves 
the conglomeration of foods we do, above all, let us masticate 
them well. We should not eat when excited, tired, nervous or 
angry. Wait until calm, even if we miss a meal or two, and 
good health and youthful vigor far into old age will be our 
reward. 

We eat to sustain life, and if we eat wisely, we will be 
healthy and live long. We must adapt our food to our age 
and occupation or calling, and to the temperament of our sys- 
tems. This may seem an indefinite bit of advice, but we each 
have an inborn instinct which will guide us in such matters, 
if we will allow ourselves to be guided. This infinite guiding 
instinct is true of botanic life as well as animal life. The little 
growing vine directs its course wisely and clings to the nearest 
support. We eat to live, and life is warmth, development and 
repair, and gives us the power of exertion and action. 



394 HOW, WHEN AND WHAT TO EAT. 

Food the Fuel of the Body* 

In all the countries under the sun, in youth or old age, the 
human body, when in a healthy state, maintains the same tem- 
perature, ninety-eight degrees Fahrenheit. Food acts as a 
fuel to us, as the warmth of our bodies is derived from. food. 
Sugars, starches and oil are concentrated forms of carbon- 
aceous food, and some of them are composed mainly of this 
element. Many persons are greatly concerned over the large 
amount of sweets devoured by young children, but without this 
element of food it is said that the healthiest infant would die 
in a short time. As we grow older we covet the meats and 
oils more. Who has not noticed the grandmother's fondness 
for a bit of the fat with her steak? It would be just as un- 
wise to deprive the old of the luxury of some nice bits of fat 
as to deny the child the sweets over which he makes himself 
a gourmand. As reason is the guide in these matters, this ac- 
counts for over-indulgence in children, and it is not the sweets 
which make them sick, but the indulgence to excess which 
makes the trouble. We should not eat by fixed rules or meas- 
ures, as this is not natural. We also eat for the generation of 
those internal forces of brain and body which constitute our 
efficiency as immortal beings. As food gives nourishment, 
and this includes warmth, growth and repair, and gives to 
the brain and body strength and power to work, we must learn 
that it is necessary for us to have different kinds of food, al- 
though milk, eggs, etc., have more than one element. 

Three things are essential to our daily food. These are 
carbon, to keep us warm; nitrogen, to give us strength and 
flesh; and salts, which combined with carbon and nitrogen 
make them nutritious. 

The power to perform bodily and mental labor must be sup- 



HOW, WHEN, AND WHAT TO EAT. 395 

from its resemblance to the albumen, the white of an egg. 

The blood is made by foods containing albumen, and as 
the blood is life, foods which build it up sustain us best. This 
is why bread is called the staff of life. Thus foods which 
contain a large amount of carbon would not build up the blood 
and strength and enable us to accomplish a great amount of 
labor. It is not always the size of a man that is to be taken 
into consideration when looking for a good strong laborer, but 
the size of his appetite is a very good criterion, for a man with 
a good appetite will be able to do a good day's work if not 
hindered by some bodily condition or infirmity. A good 
brain-worker should eat well, also, for, if debility of body sets 
in, the brain will consume itself because nutriment is not sup- 
plied to it fast enough through proper food and a healthy, 
vigorous digestion. 

The Right Times for Eating. 

It is best that all who wish to be healthy and prepared for 
their day's work should eat a hearty breakfast, that is, a break- 
fast of nourishing food. For instance, a man may eat a 
hearty breakfast and ride through a deadly marsh without 
harm, while if the man crossed the marsh' without first eating 
his breakfast, he would likely die of some malignant fever 
within a short time. Food stimulates us as soon as it reaches 
the stomach, as it calls into activity the circulation of the 
blood, and in a short time the whole body receives and feels 
the strengthening influence. As the body cools down rapidly 
when food has not been taken for some time, the early break- 
fast in winter is especially healthy for old persons and chil- 
dren, as it is a promoter of health. If a person does not have 
an early breakfast in winter, it takes longer to raise the nat- 
ural heat of the body, and as no work can be accomplished to 



396 HOW, WHEN AND WHAT TO EAT. 

work can be accomplished to any purpose until this internal 
heat is brought up, the earlier the breakfast the better. 

As there is a "miasm" or impure element in the early morn- 
ing air, and this same element is present after sundown, pre- 
sumably the healthiest time to eat supper is shortly before sun- 
down. The healthiest dinner hour is at noon time, as the 
morning work brings an appetite at that hour, and a quantity 
of food taken at that time sustains the body for the afternoon 
work. 

As the stomach is composed of muscles it is called an organ 
or machine, and in a healthy condition performs the work of 
digestion, so far as it is concerned, in about five hours, so that 
most individuals will at least find it pleasant, if not convenient, 
to eat every five hours. 

As soon as the food is digested by the stomach, it passes out 
and leaves it empty for a time. In an hour or two, certain 
vessels connected with the stomach fill with a fluid, and as they 
distend they cause the sensation of hunger, which makes us 
wish to eat again. As soon as we partake of food, they empty 
their contents among the food, dissolving it and preparing it 
for nutrition. Thus it will be seen that if food is taken into 
the stomach before it is emptied, it will arrest the digestion of 
the first food taken, which remains in that condition until the 
last food taken in is brought to the same condition, when both 
go on together. If the food remains in the stomach too long 
it sours, on account of the high temperature of that organ, and 
this causes improper and imperfect nutrition. 



PART IV. 



CHAPTER IV. 




Sleep and the Bath. 

[E live only in our waking moments, we imagine, 
and sleep has been called "the twin sister of 
death." Yet life's activities would drag heavily 
^-'^ were it not for "Nature's sweet restorer, balmy 
sleep." In sleep we are "created anew day by day." 
But it is important that conditions for sleep be made fa- 
vorable, or sleep becomes an enemy which lays its victim help- 
less while poisonous vapors and disease germs get in their 
deadly work. We must sleep; or power wanes, courage ebbs 
away, and the mind becomes weak and confused. If one can- 
not sleep at all, insanity and death ensue. One will suffer more 
from loss of sleep, before relief comes by death, than from 
inanition. 

We cannot bestow too much care upon our preparation of 
sleeping-apartments. Too often the little corner that cannot 
be otherwise utilized will be dedicated to sleeping-rooms that 
cannot be flooded with light, swept by pure breezes, and 
warmed by the sun's health-giving rays. This is bad econ- 
omy, if one values good health. Exhalations from the body 
linger in the bed clothing until purified by plenty of oxygen. 

Proper Sleeping-Apartments. 

Bed-rooms should be light, airy, and not too small. They 
should be comfortably but not showily furnished. Only arti- 

397 



398 SLEEP AND THE BATH. 

cles of use should be permitted in sleeping-apartments; deco- 
rations should consist in the cleanliness and freshness of the 
appurtenances. Heavy drapery, tidies, nick-nacks which catch 
and hold the dust, are in better taste in other rooms. The 
walls should be of some soft, neutral tint, and such ornamenta- 
tion as is allowable should be quiet and simple, so as to be 
restful to the eye. Means of ventilation should be as perfect 
as possible, that proper respiration may be insured. 

It is more pernicious to keep a dark bed-room artificially 
lighted than to allow it to remain in the shadows. Gas-jets, 
candles or lamps consume the little pure air which finds its 
way into close rooms, and should be prohibited. They should 
be as little used at night as possible in all sorts of rooms, for 
the same reason. Gas-jets turned low are more harmful than 
when the blaze is turned on fully, since the poison inevitably 
escapes when burning low. A faint jet of light in a lamp will 
destroy all the oxygen in the air faster than will a full blaze. 
One should remember exactly where the lamp stands and keep 
a few matches at hand, rather than vitiate the air with the 
smoky wick of a low-turned lamp. 

A person with weak lungs should sleep in a large room, 
where currents of pure air may constantly sweep around, 
above and below the bed. A tent, or a roof without walls, is 
still better. In the pure air of the higher regions consump- 
tives sleep in the open air in hammocks swung among the pine 
trees, with great benefit. The open air is never hurtful if one is 
warmly wrapped in light and fleecy blankets. 

The clothing of the bed should be aired daily, and very fre- 
quently hung on a line in the sunshine. The filling of mat- 
tresses and pillows should be subjected to 150 degrees of heat, 
a temperature which will destroy all decaying substances, and 
not injure hair or feathers. Fresh air is a great disinfectant. 



SLEEP AND THE BATH. 399 

Plants without flowers have been recommended, because both 
in daylight and darkness green vegetation throws off oxygen, 
and absorbs impurities and carbonic acid gas. Flowers and 
ripening fruits consume oxygen, and should not be brought 
into the room where an invalid or an infant is sleeping, nor 
should they long remain in a healthy person's sleeping-room. 

A bare hard-wood floor, with a few soft rugs placed where 
comfort or convenience demands, is much neater and more 
wholesome than thick carpets, which secrete dust and bad ex- 
halations. The rugs are easily shaken, the floors quickly 
washed off; and the housewife is not so afraid of letting in 
sunshine and fresh air if there are no curtains" and tapestries 
to fade. Papered walls are not advisable, as they gather dust 
and impurities. A hard-finished wall from which the effects 
of flies and other insects can be washed is much better. 

Flannel sheets should be used in the winter, and even in 
the summer thin baby flannel or woolen batting is preferable to' 
closely woven cotton or linen sheets. Flannel blankets for 
invalids, when the weather is cool, are better than quilts or 
cotton comforters. 

How Long: One Ought to Sleep* 

The time to be consumed in sleep varies in different people, 
but it seems that a third of the twenty-four hours of the day 
may be profitably passed in invigorating sleep. People live, 
work hard and appear to keep robust for many years on less 
sleep than this, but they are more certain to break down young 
than those who sleep well their eight hours daily. Many boast 
of doing with five and six hours, but they do so with hollows 
sinking under their eyes and wrinkles tracing telltale lines in 
the forehead. 

There was once an old author who wrote a large philosoph- 



400 SLEEP AND THE BATH. 

ical (?) book on everything in the universe and some things 
that are not there at all, who upbraided people desperately 
for wasting so much time in sleep. He advised his readers to 
rise at four o'clock every morning and begin to study. If 
work were necessary, it might be done through the busy, 
noisy part of the day, but with the quiet of evening they were 
to commence their studies again and pursue them until 12 
o'clock at night. Thus, he said, one might snatch a third of 
a lifetime in the hours idly spent in sleep, to devote to the 
acquiring of wisdom. But hours thus stolen from those that 
Nature requires in which to repair the wastes going on in 
wakeful hours must some time be repaid. The end of life 
comes all the more quickly, when there will be no choice as 
to whether you will sleep or remain awake. 

When to Sleep* 

"Early to bed and early to rise," is no doubt a wise admoni- 
tion, or was in the day it was spoken, for artificial light was 
crude and scarce, there was no temptation to prolong the activ- 
ities of the day into the darkness of night, and people's consti- 
tutions were adapted to the natural division of the day. But 
the inventions of modern times, which afford the brilliancy of 
the day during the night, have lengthened the time of action. 
We have developed more social pleasure, and acquired a fac- 
ulty for working, studying, improving and enjoying until after 
daylight ends. Perhaps we have shortened our years by so 
doing, but it would be impossible, even if we would, to get 
away from gas-jets and electric lights, back to the "tallow 
dips" of old times. Nor is it desirable, if we will yield some- 
thing to Nature's demands and resist the temptation to remain 
awake, using our brains and nerves until long after they rebel 
with weariness. If we will but sleep enough, Nature will for- 



SLEEP AN D THE BATH. 401 

give our breaking of the old rule, perhaps, and adjust our sys- 
tems to suit the new conditions. 

We certainly ought not to curtail the hours of sleep at both 
ends of night, and if we will not retire early we ought not to 
force ourselves to rise too early. We feel in these modern 
days like repeating with John G. Saxe : 

; 'God bless the man who first invented sleep!' 
So Sancho Panza said, and so I sing. 
But condemn with curses loud and deep 
The man who first invented early rising." 

But the earlier hours of the night are certainly best calcu- 
lated for sound and healthy slumber. We find ourselves more 
cheerful, amiable and better-looking when we can go to sleep 
early and wake with the birds. Late hours set up a kind of 
stimulated activity within us, and we find it difficult to fall 
into sleep directly upon retiring. We are wakeful, and grow 
"nervous" presently because we can not, and sleep is driven 
farther away than ever. . Our muscles are at a high tension, 
and often the hands are clenched tightly and the teeth ground 
together. 

To induce sleep, rise from the bed and rub the body from 
the head downward with the open palms of the hands. Then 
lie down in an easy position, relaxing every muscle, and ban- 
ishing with determination every disturbance of mind. Breathe 
deeply, regularly and slowly through the nostrils, and picture 
a field of waving wheat or tall grass, rising and falling in soft, 
billowy motions, or a peaceful lake lapping the shore gently, 
and no sign of life present. The monotonous, undulating sen- 
sation will affect one like a soothing lullaby, and sleep will 
soon follow. Often a walk in the open air, taken immediately 
before retiring, will induce sleepiness. To struggle for sleep, 



402 'SLEEP AND THE BATH. 

to long for it too intensely, is to banish it. Gentle thoughts 
of pleasant, simple things are found to be more effective. 

It has been ascertained that within the human organization 
there is an ebb and flow of vital forces, as there is in the sea. 
Mental or physical exertion performed during the low period 
of activities is at the expense of man's stored-up strength, and 
can never be replaced. At ten o'clock at night man's energies 
have greatly relaxed ; between the hours of one and three they 
are at their lowest ebb. All the faculties should be at rest from 
a little after ten to six or seven the next morning. One should 
at least assume a reclining position, relax the muscles and 
banish disturbing thoughts from the brain after the hour of 
ten. 

If one's sleep has been satisfactory, one will wake in the 
morning refreshed, and experience, after a few minutes, a de- 
sire to begin the activities of the day. If there is a tendency 
to doze after it is really time to get up, it is usually a sign of 
over-eating, of insufficient air, or improper respiration. A 
normal, sound and strong person may be trusted to sleep 
enough, and not to sleep more than his nature requires, if con- 
ditions are favorable. The occupation of many people pre- 
vents sleep during the hours especially suited to slumber, and 
they are compelled to adapt ■ themselves to odd hours. No 
doubt this changing of night into day detracts from the vital- 
ity, and materially shortens life; but if such a worker will 
train himself to fall into slumber quickly, and to catch readily 
at any opportunity for a few minutes' repose, he can preserve 
his strength and health to a great extent. 

Sleep is a restorer; and sometimes excessive sleep seems 
essential. In cases of weakness, exhaustion, relief from pain, 
the inclination to prolonged slumber is sometimes remark- 



SLEEP AN D THE B ATH. 403 

able. But the patient should not be aroused, for Nature under- 
stands her work, and furnishes what is needed. 

Never awaken a sick person to administer medicine. No 
medicine tan aid Nature so much as healthy sleep. If in an 
extraordinary instance a child or patient should sleep much 
more than seems reasonable, do not strive to arouse him with 
rude shocks; he requires medical attendance. 

Cleanliness is Godliness* 

Having bestowed proper attention on respiration, nourish- 
ment and repose, we should give due regard to keeping the 
body pure and clean. Cleanliness is next to godliness, and in- 
deed is godliness — purity. Water is as essential to good 
health and happiness as good food and pure air; but the 
method of applying it has as many phases, and may work in- 
jury or benefit, according to the manner of using it, as with 
these necessities. Water is a blessing to us, a restorative, a 
remedy, it soothes and cleanses us — yet it may be used in such 
a way as to prove itself an enemy. With a little knowledge 
and the exercise of reason there is nothing to fear. 

The principal purpose of a bath should be cleanliness. But, 
from the number of those who shock themselves daily with 
quick cold-water plunges, shower baths, etc., one would judge 
cleanliness were the last object sought after. These may be en- 
dured by many, even prove beneficial to robust, warm-blooded 
people ; but they do not cleanse. And the person who depends 
upon these means alone will be surprised, on taking a Turkish 
bath or a good warm bath of any kind, to find how dirty he 
really is. 

Cold baths are not to be condemned indiscriminately. A 
pint of water but little colder than the air of the room, rubbed 
briskly over the body with the open palms, followed by a vig- 



404 SLEEP AND THE BATH. 

orous toweling in the morning, will set a healthy person in a 
glow and establish a cheerful, animated poise for the whole 
day. But if one shrinks from the water instinctively, if there 
is a chilled sensation, and the lips and the ends of the fingers 
turn blue, then cold baths should be tabooed. As one may 
keep up a course of slight injury to himself in eating or over- 
working for years without perceptible consequences, so one 
may take a cold bath daily, chilling the blood slightly each 
time, and feel tolerably vigorous. But the strain on the sys- 
tem is too great, and sooner or later evil consequences will be 
felt. Very delicate persons should not indulge in cold baths, 
because they do not possess sufficient vitalizing reaction. Even 
those who have in reserve a great deal of constitutional vigor 
may feel the effects some time. 

The Proper Manner of Bathing* 

The proper way to bathe so as to eliminate all the exuda- 
tions from the skin is to have an abundant supply of soft, 
clear, warm water, good soap and the means for a thorough 
rubbing. One should wash until clean; then rinsing off with 
clear warm water, followed by a mere touch of cold to give 
tone to the system. Rub with good bath towels until thor- 
oughly dry, and the true object of a bath will have been at- 
tained. 

Very warm baths, indulged in too frequently, are weaken- 
ing. Some people cannot endure entire immersion even in 
warm water, as it disturbs the action of the heart ; these should 
plunge the feet in heated water while the rest of the body is 
being rubbed with the hands or a sponge. For a cold or an 
aching condition of the body, a very warm bath at night is 
beneficial. Sitting in a large tub of hot water, with a blanket 
about the shoulders, for twenty minutes or so, is an excellent 



SLEEP AND THE BATH. 405 

remedy for a hard cold, or as a preventive after severe ex- 
posure. But one should retire immediately afterward, and 
cover warmly with flannel blankets. 

Impure water is as deleterious to the skin as to the stomach. 

If the water is doubtful, add a little sal soda, borax, or, bet- 
ter still, ammonia. Vegetable soaps are best, and for delicate 
skins those soaps which contain little alkali in proportion to 
the quantity of oil should be used. Scented soaps should be 
avoided, as they are not so apt to be pure, and artificial odors 
are not always pleasant. 

Elderly people should not indulge in baths of too long dura- 
tion; in fact, every one should bathe in a manner most desir- 
able and most comfortable. It is never best to urge against 
shrinking nerves any kind of a bath ; as a usual thing, the feel- 
ings are a safe guide. Many people welcome a warm bath 
when weary, some feel refreshed from a cold one, while others 
cannot think of it until after a rest on a couch. Generally, 
bathing when tired is exhausting. 

Sea-bathing is a delightful and refreshing exercise to most 
people, but when a chill follows a plunge the bather should 
be careful. One should become accustomed to the salt atmos- 
phere before going into the surf; only after several days of 
taking the sea air into the lungs is it safe to plunge into the 
brine. Then the trial should be brief and followed by a 
speedy drying. If a sense of warmth comes immediately, one 
is safe to try again, but if one's lips turn blue he should make 
up his mind that the salt water is no friend to him, or that his 
condition is not such as to take kindly to that treatment. 

As a substitute for sea-bathing, saturate a flannel cloth in 
water well impregnated with sea salt, dry it and use daily 
after a warm bath. It is very beneficial to the weak who can- 
not endure sea water. When lives have been despaired of a 



406 SLEEP AND THE BATH. 

rubbing of sweet oil, almond oil or cocoa butter well into the 
pores of the skin has furnished the necessary nutriment and 
stimulant, and saved them. But this should not be resorted 
to except in extreme cases. 

There are various kinds of baths of hot and cold water, 
wet sheets, and packing, that are effectual remedies, but they 
should be understood and given with as much care as one 
would administer medicine. Therefore only trained nurses 
should apply them, when cases seem to call for such treatment. 
It is safe to give, as a general rule, a cold bath in fevers ; in 
great pain and in cases of inflammation, hot water applica- 
tions. 

The human civilized being must keep clean. The savages 
do not often bathe and are not particular about a little dirt 
more or less; but their open-air customs compensate for their 
lack of cleanliness to a great degree, though they would not 
succumb to certain epidemics so readily if they were more ad- 
dicted to washing themselves. Aborigines who live near the 
water use it daily. No doubt the absence of cleanliness 
among some races arises originally from a lack of water. But 
the conditions of civilization make cleanliness imperative; 
retribution comes quickly to those poor people who crowd 
together in cities, and who cannot or will not bathe. Some 
method of purifying the body must be adopted — let condi- 
tions, circumstances, tastes determine what; only, be clean. 



PARTIV. 



CHAPTER V. 




Clothing and Dress. 

LOTHING is one of the essentials of civilized life 
which primitive man in a natural state, where 
the climate did not demand it, probably dispensed 
with. Custom has rendered an outward covering 
of the body so indispensable that it is almost impossible to say 
now whether the demand is most inspired by natural necessity 
or by a deep-seated sentiment. However, fashion is an inexor- 
able law so far as clothing is concerned, and our great consid- 
eration should be how far we can make it answer its purpose 
and still not obstruct the millions of tiny doorways in the skin. 
Light and air should have free access, and the best means 
possible for carrying the effete matter from the myriads of 
pores should be allowed. For if there is a stoppage of these 
outlets and the exudations are turned back into the body, the 
result is likely to prove fatal. 



The Choice of Materials* 

The first essential, then, to be considered in, clothing is the 
material — something that is light and porous, yet sufficiently 
warm for all requirements. Nothing so well fulfills every 
purpose as wool, woven lightly and finely, as long as it is not 
fulled and shrunk from improper washing. Cotton and linen 
retain the exhalations from the skin — the odor from an un- 

407 



408 CLOTHING AND DRESS. 

dergarment of too close a texture, after two days' wear, 
proves this — and there ought to be a free circulation of air 
next to the skin at all times. 

Long ago people had but little choice as to what they should 
wear. Barbarians wore what they could obtain, according to 
the climate of their country. The skins of animals, as a 
matter of course, first suggested themselves as a covering to 
man, because they filled the requirements so well in their na- 
tive condition. When they began to be tanned and prepared 
as a protection against cold, man had made a great stride 
toward civilization. The art of uniting two pieces of skin by 
weaving strings of hide through both edges was another great 
advance. A history of the evolution of clothes from a wolf- 
skin to an up-to-date evening suit would be interesting, but 
it cannot be entered upon here. 

Until within the last fifty years there was little variation or 
choice in the matter of clothing. Fixed customs determined 
the material, the cut, the color and form for each class in 
society. Sometimes legal enactments were passed, which im- 
plied penalties for infringements, compelling each class to 
wear the kind of clothing set apart for them and no. other. 
Usually, however, custom, the weight of public opinion, or 
the impossibility of obtaining clothing other than that one 
was entitled to, were sufficient to keep the inferior classes to 
their uniform. Among the ruling and richer classes that 
strange, fickle but effective power, fashion, kept them close to 
a certain standard. Habit, an established custom, is a won- 
derful force. It has served in its time to put one kind of a 
suit on the heavy and light, the homely and the pretty, and 
keep it there hundreds of years. People have worn for ages 
some useless, fantastic article of dress, because at some 



CLOTHING AND DRESS. 409 

period or other our ancestors found it temporarily necessary to 
adopt it. 

Rational Methods in Dress. 

But the growth of individualism, of a freedom of choice 
wherever such freedom interfered with no other person's 
rights, which has marked the last two decades, has changed 
all this. People reason out things more, instead of depending 
so much on what is customary. They have learned to carry 
out their own inclinations, knowing that they must themselves 
bear the consequences, and this develops the judgment. Noth- 
ing is forbidden in wearing apparel — and people desire a 
great variety in style of dress. Even Fashion must nowadays 
present multitudinous styles and varieties, or she will not 
be followed. As a natural result of this liberty of choice, a 
more rational method of dress is coming into vogue. Tex- 
tures made from the warm hair or wool growing upon sheep 
and goats are more generally chosen than the vegetable fibers. 
Loose clothing for work or exercise is more often chosen; 
and even the long drapery which women have worn since the 
beginning of civilization is shortened for special occasions 
and special uses. Often that which special pleading and solid 
argument fail to accomplish some unlooked-for invention will 
usher in without heralding or noise. As, for instance, in 
the case of the bicycle suit. A lady may always walk out 
in short skirts, if she chooses, since the bicycle is so prevalent ; 
and very few women care to walk far, or to walk at all on 
a rainy day, in the long, trailing skirts so inevitable with the 
generation just passed. 

The outer garments may be chosen by the wearer accord- 
ing to taste, providing they are not too thick and heavy. But 
nearly all physicians agree that soft, loosely woven woolen 
fabrics are best for wear next to the skin. Still, there is 



410 CLOTHING AND DRESS. 

a difference of opinion even among recognized authorities. 
A prominent Western physician recommends linen, summer 
and winter, with frequent changes. For additional warmth, 
he recommends more clothing when necessary, but advocates 
lighter apparel than is generally worn. Some people protest 
that they cannot wear flannel next the skin, and advocate silk 
only. 

The Value of Fresh Air* 

If we should accustom ourselves to more fresh air, lighter 
and more porous clothing, cooler and better ventilated rooms, 
we would be more vigorous, have rosier cheeks, brighter eyes, 
and better tempers. The English do not keep themselves 
heated up as we do. They do not close all the windows and 
means of ventilation and build a fire as soon as the air lowers 
a little in temperature. They are more likely to get up and 
exercise until the blood is coursing merrily through the veins 
and a warm glow pervades the system. When fires must be 
lighted, they are built usually in an open fire-place ; all noxious 
gases are drawn up through the flume, and no means of 
ventilation is better calculated for the purpose than the open 
chimney. Hot rooms, an overabundance of clothing, close 
air, are blamable for most of the throat and lung diseases so 
prevalent. 

One reason why consumptives recover upon going to the 
mountains in Colorado, or to the warmer climate of some of 
the Southern States, is that the mild, pure air entices people to 
remain out of doors. In the mountains one must breathe 
deeply and fully, or he finds himself gasping for air. The 
lungs need to be filled — filled full — and the sweet air, full of 
ozone and odorous with spruce and pine fragrance, quickly 
heals the tender organs. Those who go to the cities and shut 
themselves up in small bed-rooms, light fires and pile on bed- 



CLOTHING AND DRESS. 411 

clothes, are not apt to recover ; they go home discouraged and 
report that change of climate is useless for consumptives. 
But those who go up into the mountains, dressed sufficiently 
warm without being overburdened with clothing, who sleep in 
tents or hammocks, who tramp about or work among the 
evergreens all day long, live to tell of their wonderful re- 
covery to a green old age. One must be careful, however, 
not to dofl warm underclothing because the sun beams down 
hotly in the middle of the day. A passing cloud cools the 
atmosphere ; a gentle breeze drives away the heat, and the 
evenings are always cool. 

Let Reason Govern Fashion. 

One should not be guided merely by what is expensive or 
stylish in dress, underwear especially. After observation, ex- 
perience and study, let the reason decide, not the pronuncia- 
mento of fashion. Men are more apt to dress comfortably and 
healthfully than women, when comfort interferes with cus- 
tom or fashion. One thing women will not sacrifice to re- 
form in dress, and that is grace, and it need not be expected 
of them. The reason dress reformers have had so hard a 
struggle against custom is that beauty and artistic grace have 
been ignored in reform dresses offered for acceptance. 
Women will not make themselves ugly even for the sake of 
health, and it is fortunate they will not. That subject of 
ceaseless discussion, the corset, may possibly be abolished when 
something as graceful takes its place. For all forms are not 
symmetrical, while many have a tendency to sprawl and 
spread in decidedly inartistic proportions. No doubt, if every 
woman breathed correctly, exercised properly, bathed suffi- 
ciently, ate carefully and trained down to the outlines of an 
athlete, she might be so well proportioned that no restraining 



412 CLOTHING AND DRESS. 

garment would be necessary. But they do not, and no dress 
has been invented that does not require, by the laws of beauty, 
some supporting waist beneath it. Dress waists cut to fit the 
form closely look badly, strained and pulled together, while 
every wrinkle in the flesh shows its outlines; and a basque 
and skirt without a corset or boned waist look hideous. The 
"Empire" and Greek dress resemble morning wrappers too 
closely to be appropriate for evening wear, and the loose 
drapery is inconvenient for vigorous exercise or manual la- 
bor. When some one invents a really neat, graceful dress 
that is convenient and is not easily pulled out of shape, which 
can be worn without stays, probably the corset will be ban- 
ished from the wardrobe. But at present woman cannot be 
persuaded to give it up entirely. All has been said upon 
the subject that can be, and until something equal to the corset 
in defining the graceful outline of the feminine form is in- 
vented, it is useless to inveigh against it. The most that can 
be done is to persuade women, for health's sake, to have corsets 
made to order so as to fit the form perfectly, and not to lace 
them tightly. Women, since athletic development has been 
so much sought after, do not strive to attain wasp-like waists, 
as they did two generations ago. Except in a few instances 
where shallow girls have failed to catch the spirit of the 
times, we see only the graceful curve from bust to waist which 
the Greeks so much admired. A sharper slope is now gen- 
erally deemed ugly. 

Underclothing:, Footwear, Etc. 

Women as well as men who are kept indoors by their oc- 
cupations or by ill health are advised to wear one weight of 
underwear all the year round, and to don extra garments 
when going out in the cold. A healthy person may trust to 



CLOTHING AND DRESS. 413 

his own sense of personal comfort to dress as lightly as is 
practicable in warm weather, and wear just enough to keep 
comfortable when cold settles down. The fixed habit which 
some methodical people have of changing from winter under- 
clothing to summer at a precise date, and never to go back 
to that discarded until the proper date comes around again, is 
by no means a wise one. A man will swelter in heavy flan- 
nels all day on the 31st of May, and conscientiously don light 
cotton undergarments on the 1st of June with a chilly rain 
falling, because from time immemorial he and his family had 
discarded winter suits for summer attire exactly on the 1st 
of June. This is carrying method to madness. 

Rubbers and waterproof garments should never be worn 
a moment longer than is necessary. Anything which ob- 
structs the pores of the skin or prevents the free circulation of 
air about the body is highly injurious and may be fatal. An 
air-proof covering of the whole skin would prove fatal in a 
few hours. 

Dressing the feet properly is one of the most important fac- 
tors in clothing the body, and one of the most difficult. To 
cover them so as to sufficiently protect them, and at the same 
time afford ventilation and secure ease, is something of a prob- 
lem. The ancients perhaps came the nearest to solving it 
when they fastened sandals to the feet with ribbons, leaving 
them uncramped and unconfmed and still sufficiently pro- 
tected. The feet, encased in closely woven stockings and 
snug-fitting, high-buttoned, shining black shoes with narrow 
soles and high heels, are objects of pity. Who has not ex- 
perienced or heard the sigh of relief from others when, after 
a day's outing, one doffs the uncomfortable affairs and as- 
sumes the loosely woven stockings and broad, shapeless slip- 
pers of home life? The Indians wore moccasins made from 



414 CLOTHING AND DRESS. 

the skins of animals and never suffered from corns, bunions 
or "tender" feet. Perhaps the nearest we can approach to 
comfort and security is to wear shoes that do not pinch the 
feet, made of the softest leather obtainable, cut low, with low 
heels, over thin, porous stockings. It benefits the feet to bare 
them and walk in the grass or on the soft soil, when the sun 
shines, for a time. We need to come in direct contact with 
mother earth occasionally and receive her magnetic currents 
without intervening barriers. It is noticeable that men who 
dig ditches or work in the soil in any capacity, providing over- 
work or other conditions do not break them down, are healthy 
and robust. Something is received from the soil that our 
systems need. Children who are allowed to "play in the dirt" 
are always better-natured than those who are kept clean and 
spotless and forbidden to "get their clothes soiled." Nature 
is kinder to her children than are we, with all our wisdom. 

Proper Clothing: for Children* 

The clothing of children is a very important matter. But 
the tendency of the times is toward more sensible methods 
in dressing, and it is not necessary to enter into a lengthy dis- 
sertation on the subject. Mothers do not swaddle infants in 
so many tight bandages and long, heavy skirts as formerly, 
and the long dresses are exchanged for shorter garments 
earlier in their lives. They are in danger perhaps of going 
from one extreme to the other. Whereas in the old days 
babes and young children were allowed to shiver in low- 
necked, short-sleeved dresses, and short stockings and skirts 
which left the knees bare, they now are disposed to bundle 
them up too warmly. It is well to dress children warmly and 
turn them out of doors to drink in the pure air and exercise 
their limbs freely, but we should not overburden them with 



CLOTHING AND DRESS. 415 

clothing. They perspire while playing, then sit down where 
it is cool, and so "take cold." If dressed too warmly in the 
house and when asleep, they are not only uncomfortable and 
peevish, but become susceptible to every draft of wind or 
sudden lowering of the temperature. Do not be afraid of 
a little watchfulness and trouble in dressing children. Dress 
them as the weather and the conditions seem to demand, even 
if changes are required frequently. 



PART IV, 




CHAPTER VI. 
Mental and Physical Culture. 

HEALTHY brain and healthy body must act. 
They will deteriorate faster from disuse than from 
overexertion, and decay and death will soon result 
from complete inactivity. One of the causes of 
insanity is monotony, a sameness of interests from one day to 
another, so that the mind perceives only one set of sensations, 
and has nothing new to compare them with, or arouse to action 
other faculties of the brain. The arm of an eastern fanatic, 
held motionless in one position for years, becomes absolutely 
useless. It withers away and loses its original power of exer- 
tion entirely. Every living thing must move or die. And 
man, more than any other creature, needs daily, varied, pleas- 
urable exercise of all his powers, if he would develop fully, 
normally and harmoniously. 

Ail-Around Development. 

The faculties that will be exercised most, the development 
that one will receive, must, under present social and industrial 
arrangements, depend a great deal upon the occupation one 
follows. Were there time enough in every twenty-four hours 
for the varied exercises essential to an all-around, well-bal- 
anced development, this need not be true. But when one is 
compelled to spend ten or twelve hours of each day in using 
one set of muscles or one group of the mental faculties, there 

? 416 



MENTAL AND PHYSICAL CULTURE. 417 

is little inclination or time for sufficient exercise of other fac- 
ulties. Overwork is bad in every way. In fact, it is the only 
element that makes labor distasteful and humiliating. The 
ordinary labor that each one should perform in order to "do 
as much work as he makes" would not be hard or hateful. It 
is excessiveness that makes labor drudgery. The wearisome 
round of motions that must be repeated over and over until 
the whole organism revolts and an unnatural exhaustion sets 
in — unnatural, for weariness would not be felt so soon if ex- 
ertion could be varied and interesting — prevents a desire or 
even the ability to undertake new exercises for the few re- 
maining hours which the daily toil and the necessity of sleep 
leave of the twenty-four. The humiliation in this sort of 
drudgery comes from the fact that no one will pursue it who 
is not forced by circumstances to do so. Being compelled 
implies an inability to succeed in other avocations, a lack of in- 
telligence or enterprise. But this does not always follow, be- 
cause there are only a certain number of "easy" positions to be 
filled, and some one must be left out. And it may be a matter 
of conscience that even very able men choose not to struggle 
for positions in which a genuine equivalent is not rendered to> 
society for the benefits received from them. Be that as it 
may, a majority of the people must work at their avocations 
ten and twelve hours a day, sometimes longer; and whether 
it is the middle-class business man, puzzling over his business 
accounts until far into the night, the typewriter operator 
pounding the keys till his brain whirls, or the mechanic watch- 
ing the turning of wheels through the daylight hours, the fact 
is that he is spending too much time and energy in one kind of 
exertion for good health and the preservation of life. For 
the wage-earner, who must employ his days at one occupa- 
tion, but little can be said on the necessity of variety in exer- 



418 MENTAL AND PHYSICAL CULTURE. 

cise, except that the necessity should so impress him that he 
will direct his mental powers toward bringing about a more 
just condition of industrial affairs. He will find himself in har- 
mony with a vast number of thinkers and reformers, whose 
combined thought forces will in good time achieve all that is 
desired. 

But even under present conditions the daily toiler may do 
much toward preserving an equilibrium within him. Even 
when night finds him too weary to feel the inclination for any 
new exertion, he will, if he makes the effort, be amply re- 
warded. Let the occupation of the evening be something en- 
tirely different from that which he pursues usually. If he 
stands still and attends a machine all day, a car-ride with 
good company, a bicycle ride, or even a walk in agreeable 
society, will refresh and renew his powers. The man who 
uses his muscles needs rest for the body; but he may read or 
be read to, listen to concerts or lectures, play games, or in- 
dulge in social chat, which ought to be merry and bright. 
The clerk or stenographer should enter into outdoor amuse- 
ments, athletic games, etc., with the inspiration of a few con- 
genial friends around him. One will live longer who keeps 
all his faculties and energies active, than one who overtaxes 
one set of faculties and allows the others to lie dormant. 

The person who is in business for himself is perhaps more 
apt to give overmuch attention to his work than the employed ; 
but he is not so bound by circumstances, and if he will not pay 
due regard to the demands of his being, he is himself to 
blame. The satisfaction of living a well-balanced, healthful, 
cheerful life, with power in it, ought to more than compensate 
for any loss a reasonable attention to his own various require- 
ments might entail. 

The sportsman or athlete who overexerts himself for glory 



MENTAL AND PHYSICAL CULTURE. 419 

is blameworthy. Needless excess in any kind of exercise is but 
a slow form of suicide — worse than that, it may bring on a 
helplessness and state of suffering that entails burdens on 
other people. One would not care to wreck his health beyond 
restoration, or to bring on an injury that would cripple for 
life, by overstraining his powers, if he realized what he was do- 
ing. But in the anxiety of the moment to surpass all com- 
petitors this is often done. 

What Constitutes Perfect Health* 

Perfect health is the perfect adjustment of the complex 
parts of the system. Too much muscle, with too little of the 
nervous and mental forces, is undesirable. It engenders bru- 
tality and shuts out from the individual the great round of so- 
cial and intellectual enjoyments. Too much nerve power for 
the physique results in oversensitiveness, overkeen suscepti- 
bilities, a condition anything but enviable. We should seek 
for a true balance; something which calls into play in a tem- 
perate way every fiber, every nerve, every muscle of our 
bodies. 

Men cannot continue long on one level, either in physical 
exertion or in mental or emotional conditions. One cannot 
think long upon one subject. Too much indulgence in grief, 
anger, jealousy, melancholy, or too great a dwelling on one 
topic, leads to insanity. Too prolonged and steady exertion 
of the muscles tends to harden them, though they are in reality 
losing the vital strength that otherwise would keep them sup- 
ple and capable for many years. Hard and continuous man- 
ual labor, with little use of the mental and social faculties, 
makes one hard, coarse, soddenish. The man within, the life 
that should shine out to meet and blend with the rays of other 
men's alert lives, becomes almost extinguished. Every one 



420 MENTAL AND PHYSICAL CULTURE. 

should do no more than will allow him to retain his interest 
in other matters, to keep a keen relish for contrasting occupa- 
tions, to preserve the ability to sleep well and eat with a nat- 
ural appetite. Life is full of grand possibilities to those who 
value it aright, and consequently conserve its forces with wis- 
dom and determination. 

The Healthful Value of Various Kinds of Exercise. 

Some one has said that man ought to be able to do all that 
the animals do, and more. He should be able to walk, climb, 
jump, swim and fly, as well as the birds and beasts, and to 
invent a hundred new activities suitable to himself. Walking 
he can do without trouble, but he greatly undervalues the ac- 
complishment. Because it is so matter-of-fact, he does not 
realize that it is the most natural exercise in the world, and 
the one which best assists in building up the forces of his 
body. Every muscle is called into play, the breathing is 
stimulated, the lungs filled out and invigorated, the action of 
the heart is increased by a brisk walk. When no other exer- 
cise is attainable, walks taken with discretion will keep the 
body in good health and tone. But walking can be abused as 
can every other blessing. Excessive walking is a drain on the 
vitality, and nothing can ever restore the capital of strength 
once entrenched upon to any great degree. Be moderate in 
this as in all things. 

Walking without any interest or object is not as beneficial 
as though some attraction urged one on. To mope along, 
listless and languid, with the shoulders drooping and the chest 
drawn in, wishing at each step that the journey were done, is 
not the way to gain health and strength. It is better to have 
a definite errand; to walk briskly, to breathe deeply, to 
think pleasantly, and to feel enjoyment in the exercise. 



MENTAL AND PHYSICAL CULTURE. 421 

Procure congenial company if you cannot attune your own 
thoughts to an entertaining pitch. But that is easier than 
one thinks. Fall into a line of thought which holds 
some peculiar interest for you. Concoct a story or a poem; 
build air-castles and day-dreams — their falling will not hurt 
you if you are generally well-balanced. Think of every 
bright and pleasant thing you desire — -from out the universe 
some time your thoughts will materialize. Don't brood over 
possible or impossible troubles while walking — leave that, if 
it must be done, for working hours. Whatever expensive 
means of exercise you may possess, despise not the simple, 
primitive, original and economical one of walking. 

Rowing is good for the muscles of the arms, shoulders and 
chest, but is no help to the lower limbs. One may easily overdo 
one's strength on the water, and should cease before a feeling 
of exhaustion comes. Wheeling is an excellent exercise if not 
carried to excess; better perhaps than any other mode of lo- 
comotion, as it keeps the mind active and the spirits exhila- 
rated. Every part of the body is exercised, and there is little 
danger of tediousness. The professional cyclist, like the pro- 
fessional athlete, is not so apt to find pleasure, prolongation of 
life, beauty or grace in his calling. The humped-up wheel- 
man fairly lying on his handle bars, with his "bicycle face" — 
a combination of distress and determination — is not a beauti- 
ful object. But one can be graceful and comfortable riding 
a wheel : sit up straight, ride at a convenient speed, breathe 
regularly with the mouth closed, and stop when you are 
tired. 

Horseback riding is an excellent exercise for hardy consti- 
tutions. Delicate persons should begin riding with extreme 
care. Short rides on an easy-going pony might prove bene- 
ficial to some, but unless one has been reared with horses and 



422 MENTAL AND PHYSICAL CULTURE. 

learned to know them as he knows himself, to become familiar 
with their motions as he grows familiar with his own power, 
there is danger and doubtful recompense in the jolting, 
violent exercise obtained in ordinary horseback riding. The 
sweeping, graceful movements of the Indian and the cowboy 
as they dash away over the plains in unbounded freedom keep 
them in good health and vigor. But it is a different affair 
when the unaccustomed essay it. 

Swimming is an accomplishment every one should acquire, 
for not only is it good exercise, if judiciously practiced, but it 
is often the means of saving life. Women make as. good 
swimmers as men, and often they are most in need of its tonic 
effects.- 

No doubt, if we had discovered the secret of flying, we 
should all choose that as our favorite exercise. Nothing could 
exceed its exhilarating influences; we would "pump up our 
wings/' or whatever answers that service, and spring up into 
the delicious, limitless ocean of air for a "constitutional." But 
we must wait a few more years to be able to enjoy the eagerly 
anticipated aerial flight. 

Variety the Spice of Life. 

The more tiresome and monotonous one's occupation is, the 
more need for diversions and amusements of an elevating 
kind. Music, pictures, readings, recitations, whatever con- 
trasts most vividly with the daily work, should be enjoyed. 
The desire for the recreations is generally quite keen in men 
and women who work at uninteresting tasks throughout the 
day. It is the reason men resort to the saloon and concert 
hall, where their money is worse than squandered. They are 
too weary to study, too dulled in mind to invent recreations. 
The saloon, with its bright lights, genial society, music and 



MENTAL AND PHYSICAL CULTURE. 423 

general air of comfort, is at hand, and these attractions pre- 
vail; it is so convenient, so well prepared, time passes so 
quickly, and until the visitor really drinks too much, he is 
benefited and refreshed. 

But these pleasures can be obtained in a more sensible man- 
ner. There are many workers, and they all feel the ■ sa»me 
need of rest, amusement and gentle stimulus to a brighter life. 
Let them meet in one another's houses, or club together and 
engage a hall. Singing is one of the brightest and best means 
of social and restful enjoyment. A singing class or choir 
provides one of the most agreeable recreations; it will re- 
store vitality and good spirits more effectively than any other 
means of pleasure. Singing clears the dust and bad matter 
from the lungs, the cobwebs and gloom from the weary brain, 
the weight of care from the heart. Sing whenever the sing- 
ing impulse comes, and cultivate the inclination if it is not 
spontaneous. 

If each member of a club will contribute to the enjoyment 
of the others by singing, reading, reciting, playing some in- 
strument, or telling a story, he will not only give pleasure to 
the others, but cultivate his own powers and develop his re- 
sources. The whole company will part with a brighter glow 
of content and enthusiasm if the amusement of the evening is 
contributed by members and friends, than if hired profession- 
als have amused them. And the social and fraternal feeling 
among them is much more enhanced. 

Three hours of continuous brain-work, we are told by good 
physiologists, consumes the vital power as much as eight 
hours of physical labor. If a person compelled to endure pro- 
longed mental strain daily is not careful, he will soon sink into 
a mere mental drudge. He must not forget that he has a 
body, powers o'f locomotion and a whole world full of good 



424 MENTAL AND PHYSICAL CULTURE. 

fresh air, and that upon the vigor of his physical organism de- 
pends the strength of his mind. Walking, riding, driving, 
wheeling, are easily accessible, and he must not let a tempo- 
rary brain-exhaustion prevent essential exercise. Often the 
languor occasioned by severe mental work hinders the effort 
towards bodily exertion; this must be overcome by the action 
of the will; once in motion, the brooding laziness disappears. 

A Word to Home-Makers, 

The work of the home-maker can be made one of the most 
healthful and inspiring of occupations, though not many can 
be brought to think so. Every form of exercise that the 
properties of a well-furnished gymnasium can afford is fur- 
nished by the varieties of motions necessary in the care of a 
home. The numerous duties, each of a different motion, pre- 
vent the work from becoming irksome; and the exertion re- 
quired does not prevent one from singing, talking and laugh- 
ing, from pausing a moment to admire a lovely scene from 
the window, or from stepping out of the door for a breath of 
fragrant air blowing in from orchards or flower-gardens. 
When house-work is too heavy, too complicated, and takes 
too much time and strength, like every other kind of work, 
it loses its enjoyable features. When arranged so that several 
hours of the day may be devoted to other pursuits, housekeep- 
ing is healthful, invigorating, refining work, and not to be 
despised by the most cultured. 

Children seldom need to be urged to activity. If they do 
one may be certain something is wrong, and the case should 
be kindly investigated. Young people keenly enjoy exercise 
of a uniform nature. Simple calisthenics, performed in time 
to music, will put their faces in a glow, brighten their eyes 
and set their young blood bounding to the finger-tips. A lit- 



MENTAL AND PHYSICAL CULTURE. 425 

tie military march with a few harmonious movements will 
please them greatly, and this is a great consideration in taking 
exercise. Never tire them with arbitrary figures, however, 
for their own natural, spontaneous play usually affords them 
sufficient exercise. 



PART IV. 



CHAPTER VII. 







What to Do in Sickness. 

>HE best time to do anything for sickness is before 
it makes its appearance. Prevention is more effica- 
cious than cure, and the right way to live is the 
right way to banish sickness. Illness is always the 
result of defying natural laws either on the part of the sufferer 
directly or his ancestors in times past. This defiance may have 
been unavoidable, but that makes no difference — the penalty 
must be borne. Society, of which we are a part, often does not 
allow us to live as we should ; but as a whole it pays the penalty 
of broken laws as inevitably as in the case of individuals. 



The Laws of Health. 



It is generally true that in the sphere of the very wealthy 
as well as in the depths of extreme poverty the requirements 
of good health are not carefully observed. But those who can 
command the comforts and luxuries of the world might ob- 
serve them, and are criminally negligent when they do not. 
Their ignorance even is inexcusable, since they possess leisure 
and opportunities for education. It is sometimes said that 
wealth cannot buy good health. It can, and it is possible to 
do more — it can keep it when once gained. Nothing can be 
really accomplished towards restoring health when once shat- 
tered, unless the conditions favorable to recovery can be se- 

426 



WHAT TO DO IN SICKNESS. 427 

cured. And only the residents of the plains and forests, where 
numbers do not hamper, and Nature is not interfered with, 
can do this, or the rich who bring the elements of civilization 
into relations favorable to good health by the use of money. 

Those who possess means may live leisurely and calmly. 
Their bodies are well nourished ; their minds and social facul- 
ties may be fully satisfied ; fresh air, plenty of room, bathing 
conveniences and suitable dress are attainable; freedom from 
anxiety in regard to dire want is theirs. If they allow late 
hours, overeating and overdrinking, overindulgence of any 
of the appetites, to break down constitutions built up by good 
conditions, they do so willfully and ought to bear the conse- 
quences unpitied. 

But the very poor and those who are obliged to work long 
hours at deleterious trades and occupations have little choice. 
They may be breaking the laws of health knowingly every day 
of their lives, but there is only the alternative of idleness and 
starvation, which they dare not accept. 

They must live in crowded places, and they cannot escape 
the bad odors and bad accumulations consequent on too many 
people in too little space. They have few and crude bathing 
conveniences; and worst of all, they work too hard — exhaust 
their strength each day faster than it can be recuperated, and 
their nourishment is insufficient. They may secure enough 
such as it is, but they cannot obtain the variety and quality 
of good, life-sustaining food necessary to full strength and 
robust health. It is wrong that any class of people at this en- 
lightened stage of civilization should be compelled to live un- 
der such conditions. The old idea that a slave class is neces- 
sary to the preserving of literature, art and science has been 
exploded years ago. All might work a little, and all might 
cultivate their mental, moral and social natures and the arts 






428 WHAT TO DO IN SICKNESS. 

and sciences suffer not at all. We may see no direct remedy 
for such a state of affairs as exists, but if every one would re- 
alize that the conditions are wrong and ought to be changed it 
would be a great step towards a peaceful revolution. For 
what the people believe in and desire, that will they have in 
due course of time. 

But whatever be the cause, sickness still visits vs and will 
for years to come. If people in all conditions of life will not 
make the most of their opportunities, whatever they may be, 
and will not keep to the full extent of their possibilities the 
rules for preserving health and strength, they commit delib- 
erate suicide, slow and lingering' though it may be. 

Sometimes there is a nobility in defying natural laws for 
the sake of some great duty to others; but usually justice to 
one's self is more commendable than self-sacrifice. Often 
weakness and liability to disease are born with people, and 
they must suffer for the sins of their fathers. Whatever the 
cause, we have sickness to deal with all too often. 

How to Prevent Sickness. 

If we can quickly avert a threatened ailment, it is not diffi- 
cult to keep in the way of health; only, if in our ignorance 
we try wrong remedies and blunder into hurtful instead of 
beneficent treatment, we start on a long, perplexing, wan- 
dering road that may never lead back to good health. Warn- 
ing is given quickly enough, and if the cause of ill-health 
be removed immediately, all soon goes well again. But if, 
overexhausted, overworked, worn with anxiety, we will not 
or can not stop to repair and gather up our forces, a wreckage 
is sure to follow. There are very few cases of threatened ill- 
ness which cannot be checked or averted by ordinary and very 
simple means. If one is over-worked, feels exhausted, 



WHAT TO DO IN SICKNESS. 429 

"achey" and heavy, repose, warm baths and warm water 
injections and due management of nourishment will set one's 
feet back on the right road, much better than the swallowing 
of poisonous drugs. If a cold has set in, hot baths, warm 
drinks, a good, warm bed, and repose, are more necessary 
than quinine. Even rheumatism and neuralgic pains may be 
better treated by hot applications and repose than with poisons, 
more or less intense, taken into the system. 

Kind, Quantity and Quality of Food* 

The regulation of food during disarrangements of the body 
depends not only on the nature of the derangement, but also 
on the habits of the patient and the kind of food used in 
ordinary life. Abstinence from food is usually advised in 
fevers, excitement, mental disturbance, etc. Yet, if the body 
has been undernourished for a long period, nourishment must 
not be withheld; liquid foods, broths, oysters, the beaten 
yolks of eggs, should be administered in small quantities, 
hourly, until a restoration of energy is assured. 

In cases where the sick one has lived heartily a brief period 
of fasting is essential. All the organs of the body are closely 
related, and if one is out of repair the others are in no con- 
dition to do the ordinary work of health and activity. It is a 
mistake to prepare a hearty, tempting meal for one who is 
exhausted or exceedingly weary. The digestive organs are 
driven to do more work than they are capable of performing 
well, and very often serious results ensue. Even in cases 
where one must continue to work though oppressed by pain 
and fatigue, it is not best to eat substantially; light, digestible 
food, taken in small quantities, at short intervals, is more sus- 
taining and less liable to overburden the digestive organs. 

Any kind of food offered to invalids should be invitingly 



430 WHAT TO DO IN SICKNESS. 

arranged. The taste of the invalid should be ascertained if 
possible, because it is useless to offer food that does not appeal 
to the patient's fancy, no matter how much others may like 
and recommend it. A dish may be presented in such a manner 
that the faint appetite will disappear altogether, even when 
nourishment is very necessary. A delicacy that will tempt one 
person will prove repugnant to others. A crust of brown 
bread may be eaten with a relish by one invalid, while others 
could not look at it. There are plenty of nutritious and easily 
digested foods to choose from, and no one thing should be 
forced upon the patient, when he does not like it, merely be- 
cause some one else has been benefited by it. 

In treating the sick, the previous conditions and habits of 
life should be taken into consideration. One cannot diverge 
in sickness far from the course which kept the patient in good 
health before the break-down. The quality of food, the 
intervals in eating, as well as the quality of the bed, the 
degree of warmth to be maintained, and the amount of fresh 
air to be admitted, all these should be regulated by the former 
customs of life. A person accustomed to coarse fare could not 
thrive on the highly concentrated delicacies a luxurious per- 
son might crave; and the couch of a daintily reared indi- 
vidual might seem too soft and enfeebling to one accustomed 
to the hard pallet of the laborer, the soldier or the sailor. On 
the other hand, though simple food is best in illness, beds 
should not be too soft and warm, and fresh air is always 
essential; still, one accustomed to luxuries might refuse food 
if poor or illy-prepared, a hard bed might come to be painful, 
and too direct draughts of out-door air might prove injurious. 
Everything pertaining to a sick-room should be judiciously 
managed by an intelligent and qualified person. 

Many of the most common ailments are brought on by 



WHAT TO DO IN SICKNESS. 431 

faults in eating. Sometimes the body is weakened by a long 
course of underfeeding — a lack of sufficient or of nourishing 
food — and is an easy prey to disease germs. Others bring 
on derangements by overeating or indulgence in rich and 
highly spiced food. More do so from eating too fast, in a 
preoccupied, hurried manner, bolting food in great mouthfuls 
and insufficiently chewing it. To eat when agitated, excited 
or worried is an easy way to court illness; digestion ceases 
when one is distressed in mind, or when violent emotion has 
full - sway, the food ferments, and often severe pain or 
nausea follows. A hot-water bag on the stomach and plen- 
tiful swallows of hot water will usually bring about a cure, 
if given before a physician arrives with morphine and other 
drugs. Avoid eating when very tired or cold. Rest and 
warm before essaying to eat, even if exceedingly hungry. 
When greatly in need of food, eat very carefully and slowly, 
taking small mouthfuls and masticating deliberately. 

So-Called "Colds." 

The most common afflictions to which ordinary mortals are 
subject are colds. But the liability to take cold shows in itself 
that the body is in a more or less unhealthy condition. A 
normal person may suffer from an unusual or prolonged ex- 
posure to cold, but if he is well nourished, appropriately 
clothed, strong and vigorous, he will not readily succumb 
to the ordinary conditions supposed to bring on inevitable 
colds. There are many simple remedies for a cold which can 
be used with salutary effects, but almost all of them leave the 
body more tender than ever to the effects of draughts, sudden 
changes of temperature, etc. Still they must be adopted for 
the sake of immediate relief often, and the building up of the 
system must be attended to afterwards. 






432 WHAT TO DO IN SICKNESS. 

Sometimes a sudden cold is contracted soon after eating. 
The meal or the manner of eating it may have been at fault, 
but the cold affects the stomach in the way that excitement, 
fright or deep agitation does. One may not be conscious of a 
chill, but he feels a severe pain in the stomach. Warm baths 
are not advisable until the stomach is through with its diffi- 
cult task, but hot-water drinks will be relieving. A mild f 
cathartic will aid in carrying away objectionable matter, and 
hasten recovery. One rqust eat lightly for a few days after 
such an attack. 

For colds unrelated to the digestive functions, several kinds 
of warm baths are recommended. An eminent physician, 
upon becoming conscious of the symptoms of a cold, always 
has a hot bath prepared in the evening. He remains in this 
for twenty minutes, adding hot water as it is needed. He 
then leaves the bath without drying, wraps a flannel blanket 
about him and retires to a bed well supplied with covering. 
By morning all symptoms of a cold have disappeared. 

A hot bath in an ordinary tub may be taken before going to 
bed, with equally good results. Let the patient sit in a tub 
half filled with hot water, with his feet in a pail of hot water, 
and a thick blanket covering tub, pail and body up to the 
neck. Fifteen or twenty minutes will usually produce copious 
perspiration; the bather should be quickly rubbed off with a 
little clear, warm water and thoroughly dried. The room 
should be warm and free from draughts. The patient should 
retire to bed immediately. A hot lemonade or a hot flax- 
seed tea may be given before he goes to sleep. 

A French physician claims a discovery in the application of 
German cologne in cases of cold in the throat and head pas- 
sages. He advises one thus attacked to drop cologne on a 
folded handkerchief and breathe the perfume energetically 



WHAT TO DO IN SICKNESS. 433 

through the mouth and nostrils for about three minutes. For 
young children he sprays cologne diluted with water into the 
throat and nostrils, as being less severe. He is said to have 
used this in his private practice and in hospitals with marked 
success. 

Cuts, Wounds and Bruises. 

For cuts, wounds and bruises nothing is so efficacious 
as hot-water applications. In Moscow, Russia, in the hos- 
pitals, steam is used. "A temperature of one hundred degrees 
produced by the direct application of this moist heat would 
quell even the excessive hemorrhage without resort to liga- 
tures." Surgical wounds are healed by the use of steam 
without suppuration or appreciable loss of blood. 

In common households the application of steam would be 
difficult because of inexperience. But this example proves 
how useful is moist heat even in dangerous cases. Hot water 
is almost always obtainable and affords ready relief in cases 
of acute pain or severe injuries. When possible, as in the 
instance of a hurt or painful arm, foot or leg, place the mem- 
ber over a tub or large pan and pour water as hot as can be 
borne over it for half an hour or more. The pain will event- 
ually subside, and the injured part be bandaged. 

Wet sheet packs are extensively used in the fever wards of 
many hospitals. The patients are greatly soothed and cooled 
by this treatment and look forward to it with anticipation. If 
one packing does not satisfy they are put into another, and 
while fever is raging there can be no danger. The patient 
must not lie more than an hour in one packing, or his body 
will re-absorb the impurities thrown off. The odor coming 
from a removed sheet will prove the utility of the treatment. 



434 WHAT TO DO IN SICKNESS. 

Poultices and Hot Applications* 

Poultices of various descriptions are almost necessities in 
cases of inflammation, threatened pneumonia and congestion 
of the lungs. A succession of warm flax-seed poultices will 
relieve a very severe attack ; they should be larger than the part 
afflicted and be placed on the chest without allowing the cold 
air to strike it. The heat and oiliness of flax-seed are foes 
to inflammation. A poultice of raw onion, sliced thin and 
pounded until juicy, is an old remedy for a cold on the lungs, 
but always an excellent one. Onions absorb all impurities 
and will allay pain and draw out inflammation from any por- 
tion of the body. They should be changed often and the 
poultices burned or buried, as they are dangerously obnoxious 
after use. The one drawback in using poultices is that they 
are apt to be left on too long and all the benefit thus annulled, 
for they are poisonous after absorbing all the impurities they 
will hold. 

But poultices and hot applications are but quick reliefs. 
Though imperative in emergencies, they leave the system more 
susceptible to cold than before. The only thorough remedy 
for a lingering cough or a tendency towards throat trouble 
is to invigorate and strengthen the whole being. The care 
usually exerted to avoid taking cold renders the body delicate, 
sensitive to slight change in temperature, and without strength 
to stand attacks of chilliness. The only permanent cure is 
to breathe as much pure, fresh outdoor air as possible; to 
bathe often — not necessarily in cold water, but in any way that 
is agreeable and at the same time cleansing — to eat whole- 
some, nourishing food, to keep the bowels open, to exercise 
as much as possible in the open air, and to be happy. A spell 
of despondency will lower the vital tone of the body to a 



WHAT TO DO IN SICKNESS. 435 

point where a cold is easily contracted. A robust, healthy 
condition will not allow the insidious approaches of a cold. 

Plasters of mustard or cayenne pepper are sometimes neces- 
sary, but should be used with extreme care. The tender skin 
should first be rubbed with sweet oil or vaseline, and the 
plaster, covered with a large folded cloth, applied gently. The 
important thing to observe in poultices and plasters is not to 
leave them on the patient too long at a time, and not to allow 
him to be chilled in the least while wearing them' and for 
some time afterward. Plasters are used when there is an 
inner pain which can be better dealt with if drawn to the 
surface. 

Those knowing the importance of keeping good health will 
not neglect and tamper with the delicate machinery of their 
bodies, as they dare not tamper with a machine of their own 
skill and labor. It is much better to preserve health than to 
restore it when impaired. Complete restoration is never ef- 
fected. 



PART IV. 




CHAPTER VIII. 
What Not to Do in Sickness. 

HE first "don't" might be "Don't be sick." But 
as we, the sole arbiters of our destinies, cannot 
entirely, as yet, control our conditions, even though 
we learn in a measure to control ourselves, we 
must submit to the ugly fact sometimes. But we need not 
harbor it, or succumb to it. We must, when it comes, meet 
it with courage, calmness. 

The time has been — and there are still people who think 
thus — when sickness distinguished the patient and brought 
him into pleasant prominence. It proved delicacy and refine- 
ment to be ill, and sympathizers and advisors flocked around, 
delighted to give both pity and advice. But the sick-room 
has lost its interest to sensible people, and well it may. The 
sick are no better for a crowd of sympathizers, and as they 
are but paying the penalty of some of Nature's broken laws 
they have no reason to be proud of illness. Don't admit a 
throng into the sick-room and don't allow it to be noisy and 
confused — these are among the most important "don'ts." 

The Deadly Danger of Drugs. 

Don't fly immediately to strong drugs at the first appear- 
ance of an ailment. Nothing can be more pitiable than the 
condition of one who is a victim of continuous drugging. If 
he escapes the actual afflictions which often follow an injudi- 
cious and constant use of strong medicines, he is in a con- 

436 



WHAT NOT TO DO IN SICKNESS. 437 

dition something like that of the opium-eater — it requires 
stronger and stronger doses to affect him as time goes by. It 
is also much harder for him to recover from a little ailment by 
natural means, such as rest, bathing, diet and air. 

The best physicians no longer resort to poisonous drugs for 
every disease. Every year they are depending more and 
more on hygienic treatment, on surgery, on anesthetics 
and antiseptics, to restore health, assuage pains, and pre- 
vent the spread of diseases. There is no danger in natural 
remedies and rational treatment, and when the patient is cured 
he is really well — there are no effects of drugs lingering in 
bone, tissue and muscle. 

There are cases, no doubt, of severe acute attacks, when 
there is no time for Nature to work, and something powerful 
and quick in its action must be adopted to save life. But this 
must be ordered by a wise, experienced head only, and will 
be, after all, but a choice of two evils. A good physician 
knows that an injury has been done to the system; but when 
he has no alternative between that and depriving the victim 
of any system at all, he does not hesitate. 

Though we may find a long indictment against strong medi- 
cines, it would not be wise to abolish or put them entirely 
beyond our reach. We need them as antidotes to those pois- 
ons which may have been inadvertently swallowed, touched or 
breathed. A counterpoison is a different matter from a drug 
given to cure a slight ailment ; it is counteracted by the poison 
already present. The system may be somewhat the worse for 
being the scene of a battle, but the poisons destroy each other. 
Occasionally medicines may be used to advantage after an ac- 
cident, or when there are hurtful elements which must be 
quickly eliminated. But no one should hasten to resort to 



438 WHAT NOT TO DO IN SICKNESS. 

them when a simple yielding to Nature's requirements will 
allow her to effect a cure. 

Usually, rest, quiet, a few days of light eating, bathing, 
will bring about a recovery in case of indisposition. Sickness 
brought on by exhaustion, by overwork, overeating or un- 
dereating, by exposure to inclement weather, by breathing bad 
air, or feeding on unhealthful food, can readily be managed 
by these natural methods. Cool baths allay fevers ; hot water 
will banish or at least soothe pain, and aid in warming a 
chilled body. Dieting depends upon the nature of the sick- 
ness; where there is no appetite, it is safe to decide that the 
stomach does not require food for the time being. But if sick- 
ness is the result of insufficient or illy-chosen food, and one 
feels a craving for nourishment, it is foolish to deny one's 
self. Nourishing broths, tender meats, dainty preparations 
of eggs and milk may aid the patient in regaining his normal 
strength. Complete repose, with the mind relieved of all 
anxiety, is one of the best and most complete of Nature's 
remedies. But it is one of the things men and women will 
deny themselves to the very last. They can not, dare not take 
time to rest or to be sick, and to banish anxiety when one is 
feeling that his business is imperatively demanding his atten- 
tion is a gigantic task. This is why, when one feels a feverish 
attack coining on, he resorts to drugs, which stimulate or 
palliate or tide over a critical time, while he continues to keep 
about his work. He may seem to recover, but he is only "pil- 
ing up wrath against a day of wrath." Some day he must 
pay the debt a hundredfold, and find that he is obliged to rest 
whether he "has time" or not. People think they cannot af- 
ford to let Nature repair a body out of order — because it takes 
too long. But a doctor, medicines and a shortening of life 
are, in the end, much more expensive. 



WHAT NOT TO DO IN SICKNESS. 439 

The Danger of Impure Food and Drink* 

We are usually consuming more or less deleterious sub- 
stances in our food; the water we drink is not always pure, 
and it is not always possible to obtain clear, fresh air. When 
we know the exact nature of the poisons we have imbibed, 
medical knowledge may advise the particular antidote or 
medicine calculated to bring about a quick cure; such as qui- 
nine for malarial attacks, etc. But in this case, a change of 
atmosphere and drinking-water, a liberal use of warm water, 
inside and out, and a. period of rest, would bring about a more 
perfect cure, and no bad effects would linger to afflict the suf- 
ferer indefinitely. No one should take quinine merely for 
weariness, a temporary lack of vitality, or for the exhilarating 
effects it has on the brain, unless he wishes deliberately to 
bring pain and debility upon himself. 

Do not choose a dark, poorly ventilated room to lie in, if 
there are any possible means of obtaining a large, light, airy 
apartment. One must have fresh air ; there should be an open 
chimney in the room or some means of obtaining a circulation 
of air without producing drafts directly over the patient. 
Once established in such a room, shut worry, anxiety, fear, 
despondency, outside. Both patient and nurse should culti- 
vate a cheerful, brave manner of looking at the situation, 
never harboring for a moment fear that a fatality lurks in 
the future. Confidence and trust are as important as good 
care in a serious case of illness. The attendant should never 
betray a feeling of uneasiness by look or word, even if he 
cannot wholly control it. 

Doleful visitors should be excluded. Perhaps there is a 
certain strange enjoyment, participated in by some people, in 
recounting terrible cases of sickness, awful accidents and har- 
rowing deathbed scenes, but they should be peremptorily for- 



440 WHAT NOT TO DO IN SICKNESS. 

bidden to enjoy themselves thus in a sick-room. Visitors are 
seldom beneficial in a sick-room. The patient is in no condi- 
tion to participate in a social function, but he will make a 
tense effort if a friend "drops in," and finds himself nervous, 
feverish, wearied when he is gone. Solicitude and sympathy 
should satisfy themselves with inquiries at the door until the 
time of certain convalescence. 

The Dangers of Stimulants and Narcotics* 

Do not resort too often to alcoholic concoctions as remedies. 
Once in a hundred cases some form of alcohol may be the only 
remedy possible. It has been the means of saving life even; 
but it is a stimulant that carries a train of evils in its wake, 
and is frequently the direct cause of results worse than the 
original ailment. Alcohol urges the heart and nervous system 
to renewed efforts when they are at so low an ebb that life 
itself is in danger. But it adds no new strength, gives no 
nourishment, builds up nothing. It may seem to assist the 
assimilating functions, but it simply benumbs the pneumo- 
gastric nerves and renders it impossible for the stomach to re- 
port its condition to the brain. Any one can determine, by 
using a little reason, whether the habitual use of such a stimu- 
lant is of real benefit. Physicians only use it as a choice of 
two evils. 

Alcohol stimulates the powers to such a degree that mar- 
velous feats of endurance are often achieved, and wonderfully 
brilliant efforts of mentality are put forth; but these are 
made at the expense of one's reserve of vitality and power, 
and this can never be restored. It is so much easier to resort 
to a drink of something stimulating, when one feels one's 
powers sinking, than to take a rest, a bath, or a wholesome 
change of scene and air, that hundreds of people do so and 



WHAT NOT TO DO IN SICKNESS. 441 

remain at work. But it is like entrenching on one's principal 
when one should live on what accrues from it; the end comes 
with startling suddenness when one is least looking for it. 

Pure grape juice, and simple drinks in which the presence 
of alcohol can scarcely be detected, need not be classed with 
alcoholic beverages; they are to most people refreshing and 
beneficial. 

Opium and morphine are not curative. They should be 
called into service only in most extreme and unusual cases. 
Either to introduce them directly into the stomach or by in- 
jection into the blood is a most dangerous proceeding, and 
nothing but an extreme situation can justify it. They do 
not remove or lessen pain; they simply deaden the nerves 
which seek to carry intelligence of a dangerous condition to 
the brain. Pain is Nature's signal of distress; it also an- 
nounces that she is gathering up her forces to effect a cure. 
Whatever is done to allay pain should be along the line of 
Nature's work, not against it. The grievous suffering which 
follows the use of narcotics is as hard to endure as the orig- 
inal pain; whereas more simple remedies, though slower in 
taking effect, leave no bad effects, but rather assist the pro- 
cesses of renewing and restoring the afflicted parts of the 
body. 

It is so much easier to swallow a dose of medicine than to 
place one's self in a condition where Nature, without the pres- 
ence of poisons, may proceed in her slow, sure, methodical 
way to cure and renew. But if you value a long and com- 
fortable life, resist the temptation. Take time to get well, and 
when the disease has left you everything wrong is gone. 
There are no lingering, incomprehensible effects tormenting 
you for years afterward. And when an ailment comes again 
it is more easily banished than before. 



442 WHAT NOT TO DO IN SICKNESS. 

Those who do not swallow strong drugs when ill seldom 
sink so low as those who do. If they follow the natural 
course dictated by reason — rest when weary, breathe deeply of 
pure air, bathe in warm water if chilly, use hot- water appli- 
cations if cold or in pain, cold water if heated, inject copious 
draughts of warm water into the alimentary canal, if neces- 
sary, the patient recovers without alarming symptoms, easily, 
steadily and thoroughly. And people say of such a one, "Oh, 
he is never very sick; just slight attacks, you know," and go 
on to recount with great satisfaction the terrible extremes to 
which they have been reduced, and the terrible remedies re- 
sorted to to "bring them through." As long as people boast of 
being sick and take delight in the extreme remedial treatments 
they undergo, they will be sick, as sick as they like, and in 
ordinary health never be entirely free from ailments of some 
kind. But that is a cowardly, burdensome sort of life to live. 
The desire to arouse sympathy or to possess an Excuse for 
shirking one's share in the activities of the world is irksome to 
others. Who wants to ride in the ambulance wagon through- 
out the battle of life? 

Is Medicine a Science? 

There is really very little known about medicine. The 
most eminent physicians of the world have declared that medi- 
cine is not a science ; some of them even say that in the pres- 
ent state of knowledge concerning drugs they would better 
be abandoned altogether than run the risk of tinkering with 
the body where ignorance prevails. Every dose is more or 
less of an experiment. For it is impossible to determine the 
exact condition of the patient or what elements predominate 
within the system. Conducting chemical experiments in a 
live laboratory out of sight is an extremely hazardous 4*nder- 



WHAT NOT TO DO IN SICKNESS. 443 

taking. That people get well at all, after making themselves 
the receptacles of all sorts of mysterious compounds, is because 
Nature is true to her trust and does her best in spite of the 
obstacles thrown in her way. "Nature does much and imagi- 
nation a great deal," a great physician once said. 

There is a great deal of superstition still extant concerning 
medicines. Indeed, the healing art sprang from a belief in 
witchcraft. The "Medicine Man" of barbarous tribes was 
not far removed from the established physician less than a 
hundred years ago, judging by remedies still to be found in 
the old books on therapeutics, "eyes of snails, spiders' feet and 
toads' brains" being among the things enumerated as specially 
effective. 

People are slow to outgrow an awesome reverence for the 
man of medicine. They look to "the doctor's coming" as to 
the coming of a magician who is to work marvelous changes 
in the sick body by means absolutely incomprehensible to com- 
mon man. The more medicine bottles he leaves, the more 
complicated and inexplicable the formula for treatment he 
prescribes, the greater he is, and the more the imagination is 
called upon to work its share. It is the old story of washing 
in the river Jordan; natural remedies are too simple and the 
average patient questions, "Are not the rivers of Damascus 
better than all the waters of Israel ? May I not wash in them 
and be clean?" And like him, "turned and went away in a 
rage." 

Most physicians know that if they leave the patient with- 
out prescribing one or two noxious compounds he will feel 
slighted and neglected; and that even if he is fast recovering 
he is liable to send for another doctor, who will dose him to 
his heart's content. Therefore, though they may be wise 
enough to realize that no drugs are needed, they give sweet- 






444 WHAT NOT TO DO IN SICKNESS. 

ened water and flour pills as harmless offerings to the god 
of superstition. The imagination is usually so powerful that 
the sick one will declare he feels better after taking each dose. 
AVhatever appeals to the courage or determination to get well 
is certain to be beneficial. 



PART IV. 




CHAPTER IX. 
Care of the Eyes and Ears. 

)UR eyes and ears seem to bring us in closer com- 
munication with the outside world than all the 
other organs of our body. Intelligent beings live 
S§*£§s^ and develop within their darkened homes, having 
only the sense of touch to bring them into relationship with 
their environment. But it would seem that they must be 
eternally alone. Who can find their souls? How can we 
penetrate into the mystery of their inner natures, when we 
cannot look into their eyes or speak our thoughts into their 
ears ? We get nearer nature, nearer humanity, when we listen 
to their voices, and allow ourselves to look through the "win- 
dows of the soul" on the beauties of life. 

One school of physicians professes to have discovered that 
all the ailments of the body are due to some weakness or 
injury to the eyes — excepting those resulting from accident. 
This is too sweeping a statement to be Accepted, but no doubt 
there is a close relationship between constitutional imperfec- 
tions and certain defects of the eye, and that often the gen- 
eral health is improved by proper treatment of the eyes, while 
optical imperfections may be remedied by strengthening and 
building up the system. It is true that many derangements of 
the brain are directly traceable to defective or overstrained 
eyes. Nervous headaches that continually torture one have 
their origin in some faulty arrangement of our sight organs. 

445 



446 CARE OF THE EYES AND EARS. 

Very often a skillful optician, by treating the eyes and ad- 
justing to them the proper glasses, banishes such headaches 
entirely; and threatened insanity has been averted by judicious 
treatment of the eyes in conjunction with hygienic care of the 
whole physique. 

The Cause of Headaches* 

Good oculists tell us that if the eyes were true and strong 
headaches which have their rise in gastric defections would 
not be so common ; our heads would not be allowed to throb 
in sympathy with local pains which ought not to intrude on 
the domains of other organs. True eyes are those which are 
perfectly focused so that the vision is even. Poor eyes are too 
often inherited, and children are carelessly allowed to go 
through their school days, without being noticed, looking 
obliquely at their books trying to secure a perfect converg- 
ence of sight. The least inequality or disparity of sight be- 
tween a child's eyes is sufficient to weary and worry the 
nerves, and create a great deal of suffering. 

How We Abuse Our Eyes* 

Young children are often ailing and peevish when no one 
can discover the cause; the doctor drugs them and they get 
worse. A thorough investigation would probably result in 
discovering some annoying defect of the eyes which entailed 
a perpetual, troublesome strain on the part of the child which 
he is unable to understand and explain. Good physicians say 
that every child's eyes should be tested as soon as it begins 
to learn to read from books. It may be suggested that our 
forefathers were not examined and fitted to glasses as soon as 
they were out of their mothers' arms. True, but there were 
not so many exactions made on the eyes in those days, and 
somehow our more rapid lives have sensitized our nerves, until 



CARE OF THE EYES AND EARS. 447 

every small defect seriously and painfully wears upon them. 

The increase in imperfect vision in the United States is 
startling, while in many countries of Europe the majority of 
workers, artists and students habitually wear glasses at their 
occupations. It has been proposed in Germany that a law be 
passed ordering that the eyesight of all pupils be tested twice 
a year by an officially appointed oculist, and provision made 
for the proper spectacles in each case. Something- should be 
done to check this apparent degeneracy of one of our most 
valuable and cherished senses. To find the cause and elimi- 
nate it would be more effectual than fitting new spectacles 
twice a year, though this is imperative where the trouble 
already exists. 

We use our eyes badly in many ways while they are good 
and serviceable; they seem to be so reliable, so trustworthy, 
so uncomplaining, that we are certain nothing can hurt them. 
We read on the moving cars, carriages, even when walking; 
and the eyes must constantly be readjusting themselves ac- 
cording to the rate of motion. We subject our eyes to bril- 
liant lights varying in intensity and color, to many lights 
whose rays cross each other in different directions; and we 
demand exacting service from them when the light is poor. 
We imagine we can do this with impunity, because we do not 
feel any immediate pain or uneasiness. We may not suffer for 
years while we trifle with these organs whose delicate intri- 
cacy ought to awe us into treating them well, but the time 
suddenly comes when our faithful servants break down be- 
yond our power to restore them. Carelessness must be pun- 
ished as certainly as it exists. 

Clothing that is ill fitting is occasionally the cause of 
troubles of the eye. Hats that fit upon the head too tightly are 
responsible in many instances for aching and strained eyes. 



448 CARE OF THE EYES AND EARS. 

An eminent oculist declares that he cannot treat eyes success- 
fully while the owner wears high-heeled shoes, claiming that 
there is a subtle sympathy between the feet and the head; the 
high heels throw the body into an unnatural position, strain 
the feet and injure certain susceptible muscles and nerves 
which connect the extremities. Shoes must not be too tight, 
and anything which clasps about the neck too snugly is highly 
injurious to the eyes. In fact, tightness in the garments at 
any point will affect the eyes badly. 

People usually delay the time of wearing the spectacles re- 
quired by the addition of years, fearing that growing old is 
made too apparent. This shows a lack of dignity and self- 
respect and does not accomplish the object. For a discern- 
ing person can tell by the appearance of the eyes that glasses 
are needed; and at all events, holding objects away from the 
eyes to secure a focus betrays the failure of age, and looks un- 
dignified and helpless. Often from heredity, ill-health, over- 
use or accident people early require glasses to assist their 
failing sight. It is foolish to delay because of appearances the 
procuring of glasses until the nerves of the eyes are strained. 
When it is found that a printed page must be held farther 
away or at one side, the eyes should be tested at once by an 
able oculist and the proper spectacles adopted. Somletimes 
failing sight is indicated by weariness when reading or doing 
fine work, rather than by an involuntary movement of what- 
ever is in the hand away from the eyes. 

A good wash for weak or fatigued eyes is made by mixing 
two per cent of boracic acid in ninety per cent of camphor 
water, and if not unpleasant to the eyes, add five drops of alco- 
hol. Use a rubber-tipped glass dropper to place one drop of 
the wash in the eyes several times a day. 

Every one should rest the eyes from two to five minutes 



CARE OF THE EYES AND EARS. 449 

three or four times a day, if continuous effort is required of 
them. Remove the glasses, if any are worn, rest the head 
against some support and look quietly at nothing in a pleas- 
ant gloom, or close the eyes entirely, whichever seems most 
restful. Dark glasses protect eyes sensitive to glaring light 
and shifting rays. Do not wear glasses that have become 
loose and will not keep their place steadily. 

Some drugs have a deleterious effect on the eyes. The ex- 
cessive use of stimulants is certain to weaken the sight. Qui- 
nine will, if used continuously or in large quantities, injure 
the eyes. If one continues using it after the eyes become 
affected, they may be weakened beyond restoration. 

The clearest and purest water should be used for washing 
the eyes every day; this is most important to the preservation 
of the sight, but often really clean water is impossible to 
obtain. If the water procurable is impure it should be boiled 
and strained ; tainted water should not be allowed to penetrate 
beyond the eyelids. Where pure water is plentiful, it is a good 
plan, so it is said, to plunge the face into a basin full, and 
hold the eyes open for a few moments. People who have 
tried it declare that it strengthens the eyes wonderfully. 

It is believed by many that living in cities is the cause of 
so much near-sightedness. The eyes are never trained to 
distances; the only objects which meet them are near, and 
lack of practice results in lack of power. Inhabitants of the 
plains and mountainous regions are not nearly so apt to be 
near-sighted as are those dwelling in larger cities or narrow 
dells where the outlook is limited. 

Glasses divided in half, so that the upper parts are for dis- 
tances and the lower for closer use, are said by the best ocu- 
lists to be hurtful, the danger far exceeding the convenience. 



450 CARE OF THE EYES AND EARS. 

The Organs of Hearing* 

Every one should be particularly careful in regard to the 
ears, and cherish sacredly the sense of hearing, for of all the 
afflictions to which humans are subjected, deafness seems to be 
one which good physicians are least able to deal with. Hear- 
ing once lost or dulled is very seldom restored. Not that every 
sufferer from a malady of the ear should consider his case 
hopeless, but the fact that defective hearing is so difficult to 
cure should impress every one with the importance of caring 
for and protecting the ears properly. Shocks of any kind 
injure the auricular organs; we can not always avoid shocks 
ourselves, but we may be able frequently to avert them for 
others, if we realize the significance of violence against the 
tender ear drums. 

Hearing is injured ofttimes by the entrance of very cold or 
unclean water into the ears. People bathe in the sea without 
protecting the ears from the rush of the water. An eminent 
aurist says that before entering the surf cotton should be 
pushed into the opening of the ear to shield the drum. 
Many cases of deafness or pain in the ear are caused by shocks 
of cold water, and are much more difficult to cure than when 
the trouble proceeds from other cause. 

A blow upon the ear is exceedingly dangerous and painful. 
It is criminal to strike a child upon the side of the head, for 
ignorance of probable consequences is inexcusable in mature 
persons. One would not subject a delicate musical instrument 
to violent dashes of cold water, or blows and knocks. But that 
intricate, delicate, wonderful "harp of a thousand strings," 
so fine as to be almost invisible and so marvelously adjusted 
that it responds to every shade and pitch of sound, is neg- 
lected, exposed and banged about as though it were a thing 
of no consequence. 



CARE OF THE EYES AND EARS. 451 

Nothing should ever be allowed to penetrate beyond the 
outer covering of an infant's ear, not even water. If the baby 
is to be immersed in water for a bath, very small wisps of 
cotton should be gently inserted in the ear-holes. Always 
appreciate the fact that young children's tympanums are ex- 
ceedingly sensitive. 

Ear-wax should not be removed from the ears with a hard 
instrument, and indeed it should not be forcibly removed at 
all. As much wax as ought to come to the surface will be ex- 
pelled by natural processes, the movement of the jaws, etc. 
This should be gently washed away when bathing. Harsh 
digging into the ears should never be allowed ; any hard treat- 
ment rolls and packs the wax. 

Ear-ache or pain in the ear is quite common in children, and 
often babies cry with it when the cause is unsuspected. This 
subject is fully treated elsewhere. 

The ears should always be protected when exposed to the 
cold or a storm, not only that the outer ears may be preserved 
from freezing or discomfort, but that the inner cavities may be 
secluded from all chance of injury from wind and cold. A 
sense so precious as the hearing cannot be too carefully looked 
after; once lost entirely, no possible medical skill can ever 
re-create it. 



PART IV 



CHAPTER X. 




Care of the Extremities* 

*HAT it is absolutely necessary for every one to use 
one hand more dextrously than the other is serious- 
ly contended by many physiologists and surgeons. 
It is said one who* uses one hand more frequently 
and energetically than the other is not able to stand erect or 
move as gracefully as one who is ambidextrous. One hip is apt 
to be higher than the other, and there is a perceptible curvature 
of the spine very often. Modern authorities strongly advocate 
training the child, as he begins to use his hands, to use both 
with equal frequency. Children, they claim, will do so nat- 
urally if they are not encouraged to carry, hold, play or work 
with one hand to the practical exclusion of the other. 

The Advantages of Ambidexterity* 

If one desires perfect, well-balanced physical development, 
it is best to train children to the use of two hands with equal 
skill. Carrying a baby on one side more than the other, so 
that it must perforce take whatever is handed it with the out- 
side hand, is considered the starting-point of being "right-" or 
"left-handed." The slightest tendency toward an over-use of 
one hand is fast strengthened by the constant yielding to the 
inclination; it is quite difficult to overcome it after several 
years of physical activity. Still it is quite possible, for if a 
person loses one hand by accident, he is sure to acquire, in 

452 



CARE OF THE EXTREMITIES. 453 

time, an extraordinary expertness in the use of the other; and 
left-handed people very frequently learn to use both hands for 
writing, drawing, sewing and many other achievements. In 
the finer trades, such as wood-carving, it is essential that both 
hands be equally skillful, and workers find it quite possible to 
acquire this ambidextrous skill when necessary. 

When a person is using one hand only, the greater part of 
the weight rests on one foot; one shoulder is raised higher 
than the other; and there is an uneven distribution of the 
forces. Children who constantly carry weights with the same 
hand, such as books, skates, etc., draw one side of their bodies 
out of shape, and sometimes an arm is lengthened out of pro- 
portion. Children can be trained to write with the left hand 
as well as the right while the muscles are growing, and do 
many other kinds of work of equal dexterity, and thus the ill- 
proportion due to too great a development of one side of the 
body may be avoided. 

The advantages of training both hands alike are a har- 
monious development of all parts of the body, and conse- 
quently a better poise, a stronger, more graceful growth and 
better health. 

The Hand on Index of Character. 

A proper care of the hands indicates refinement and a love 
of the beautiful... It is impossible for those who labor contin- 
uously with their hands to keep them soft and white and deli- 
cate. But strong hands are attractive; pale hands are not 
desirable, since they indicate weakness or lack of health. 
But all can be kept very clean, and the skin may be treated 
so that it will not be dry, hard and discolored. Working 
men and women are too prone to ignore their hands because 
of lack of time, and because they believe work makes them 
ugly, and care is of no use. But a skillful, dextrous hand is 



454 CARE OF THE EXTREMITIES. 

handsome if one does his best with it. Any strengthening, in- 
vigorating process adds the grace of proportion and tends to 
improve the texture. 

Extreme cleanliness is of most importance in caring for 
the hands. If washed, and then dried before the last remnants 
of dirt are removed from each wrinkle, line and fold, the 
hands will retain a grimy, uncared-for look, and be more diffi- 
cult to clean the next time. It is better not to wet the hands at 
all than to wipe them dry before every particle of foreign 
matter is removed. In cold weather they will chap, crack 
open and bleed much more readily for not being thoroughly 
washed with warm soft water and soap and well rinsed with 
clear water before drying. To rub working hands from the 
wrists downward one or two minutes after washing will aid 
in keeping them flexible and shapely. 

At night especially should the hands be made spotlessly 
clean. They should be soaked for several minutes in order to 
accomplish this, in a soft warm water containing a handful 
of oat-meal or a little almond-meal, then well washed with 
soap — cheap soap is no economy — rinsed and completely 
dried. A little lemon-juice will remove stains and discolora- 
tions, and a mixture of glycerine and alcohol will heal broken 
places and chaps. Mutton tallow or cold cream are still 
better if the hands are badly chapped. 

It pays to be thus attentive to these useful members of ours, 
and it need not be looked upon as a sign of vanity. One 
keeps one's self-respect better, even though one's daily occupa- 
tion be laborious and coarse. Clean, well-kept hands stimulate 
exertions toward higher things. A person who takes proper 
pride in the hands will never be content to sit idly and de- 
teriorate, or let his mind rest and dwindle away for want of a 
little mental exertion. He who is satisfied to sit down in the 



CARE OF THE EXTREMITIES. 455 

midst -of his family, with soiled, neglected hands and face, 
untidied hair and slovenly dress, is careless of his dignity, of 
his own happiness and well-being, as well as of the respect and 
affection of his friends. 

The Manicuring: FacL 

People who have too much leisure and too little solidity' of 
character make a fad of manicuring, and foolishly expend 
more time, energy and money upon extravagant attention to 
the hands and feet than upon any of the useful activities of 
life. The elaborate sets of implements, exhaustive treatises 
upon the care of the extremities, the anxiety in consulting 
manicures among people of small brains, are a travesty upon 
cleanliness. It is not necessary that one should devote one's 
life to washing the hands and paring one's finger and toe 
nails. One or two simple instruments and the expenditure of 
a few minutes' time in each day are sufficient for all practical 
purposes. 

A person may be exceedingly neat who washes his nails 
daily with a nail brush and good soap and water; who uses 
something to clean underneath the nails, an article to cut and 
slope them, who pushes back the scarf skin and carefully cuts 
away all loose or hanging shreds of skin, and who polishes the 
nails occasionally with a little nail powder and a chamois 
skin. Too highly polished or fantastically cut nails betray 
a tendency toward snobbishness. 

It is a pleasure to grasp the well cared for, useful, strong 
hand of a thoroughly healthy, magnetic man or woman. A 
hand that is dry and hot denotes ill-health or an absence of 
self-control — a state in which the nerves, the motion, the in- 
clination run riot. A cold, clammy hand denotes a bad con- 
dition of the body or mind. 



456 CARE OF THE EXTREMITIES. 

Well cared-for hands will do better service than neglected 
ones, besides being more comfortable and putting the owner 
at his ease. 

The Feet in Health and Comfort. 

The care of the feet is even more particular than that of the 
hands, for not only does our health and comfort depend upon 
it, but to some extent our morals as well. Who can be gen- 
erous and kindly when the liver or stomach is out of order? 
And even more difficult is amiability when one's feet are 
painful. A tight shoe, a bunion or a corn has been more than 
once responsible for a cross word which broke up a friendship, 
a frowning look or a strong expletive which discouraged or 
rebuffed an acquaintance or applicant for a favor. The feet 
have been greatly abused, more so than the stomach, and they 
are resentful. 

They are secluded from air and sunshine and are often 
squeezed into tight shoes; they are forgotten too often, and 
perspiration and dust are left to dry into the skin; they are 
seldom properly clothed and more seldom given their liberty 
to earth, air and light ; consequently we are a nation of "ten- 
der feet," and corns and bunions are our constant "familiars." 

Injuries to the feet begin almost with the first shoes. The 
fat little foot is crowded into an unaccustomed covering and 
kept in its case too long at a time. As the child grows, 
mothers do not remember how fast the little feet are changing 
their shape, and the old shoes are retained until the toes are 
cramped, the heels pinched, and little calloused places appear 
on the little pink soles. The little ones acquire an awkward, 
limping walk if the shoes are ill-fitting, and probably never 
obtain the grace and ease of carriage which the free, un- 
hampered youth should exhibit. 



CARE OF THE EXTREMITIES. 457 

Foot-Covering — Shoes, Stockings, Etc. 

The problem of foot-coverings is a perplexing one at best. 
If shoes are too large, they slip about and rub blisters in the 
skin which finally become calloused. If too tight, the pain is 
insupportable, and the evil consequences life-long. Highly 
polished leather often makes the feet burn and smart, es- 
pecially if worn with tightly knit stockings; such a dressing 
is almost impervious to air. Yet "going bare footed' ' is not 
desirable, even though civilized society had no prejudices in 
favor of clothed feet. The injuries we would be constantly 
receiving might be worse than our uncomfortable shoes and 
stockings, though some of the best-shaped and soundest feet 
are of those which were bruised, rasped, scratched and tough- 
ened through a barefooted childhood. Sandals are no longer 
made for general use, and we can do no better than to accept 
the shoes of the present day, choosing them as perfectly fitting 
as possible. 

Allowing the feet to be entirely uncovered a portion of 
every day will benefit them greatly; contact with the ground 
is good, also, for the feet themselves and for the general health. 
Children usually love to bare the feet ; though it seems cruel to 
run the risk of the cuts and bruises which they are likely to 
receive. 

Constant attention to the pedal extremities will do much 
to alleviate the pain and soothe the feeling of ache in feet 
that have become tender and painful by past abuses. They 
should be washed clean at least once every day with warm 
water and soap, and once or twice a week be soaked for 
twenty minutes in hot water containing borax or ammonia 
and good soap. After this last treatment, they should be thor- 
oughly rubbed with a coarse towel, and the tough or dead 
skin removed with pumice soap or fine sand paper. If they 



458 CARE OF THE EXTREMITIES. 

are then tender to the touch, rub over and into the skin thor- 
oughly with tincture of arnica or extract of witch hazel, and 
dry completely, especially between the toes. 

Many people find that a foot-bath of salt and water 
toughens the cuticle and renders the feet less liable to pain 
or injury. Rubbing the feet under water that is kept as hot 
as it can be borne, for ten minutes, is also an excellent method 
of soothing painful feet. Paint bunions with iodine after 
bathing, and begin the treatment as soon as they make their 
appearance, if possible. It is important that toe nails be kept 
clean and carefully trimmed. Ingrowing nails should receive 
due attention immediately, and crowded or distorted nails re- 
lieved from the ill-shaped shoes which caused them, and 
treated daily; softened and trimmed until they grow natur- 
ally once more. 

It is difficult to advise one as to the kind of stockings to be 
worn, or concerning the material of which shoes should be 
made. A great many physicians condemn all hosiery except 
that made of fine, loosely woven wool. Others advocate silk, 
which is also strongly objected to by others, on the ground 
that friction between the garment and skin disturbs the nat- 
ural electricity of the body ; cotton and silk are said to be too 
close in texture to allow the escape of perspiration. But cot- 
ton can be woven into any kind of texture desirable, and 
where it is most agreeable, we do not see why it may not be 
worn. It is well to change stockings every day — not neces- 
sarily sending them to the wash after one day's wearing, but 
lay them aside for a good airing and drying. This is true of 
shoes; they need not be changed daily, but it is best to stand 
them away for two or three days after having worn them a 
week. 

Rubber overshoes or boots should never be retained a mo- 



CARE OF THE EXTREMITIES. 459 

ment longer than necessary. They are at best necessary evils, 
as they are so confining, allowing no ventilation whatever, and 
keeping within the perspiration of the feet or any dampness 
that may have crept inside the shoe. A stout leather shoe is 
better for wet weather, and even though all moisture is not 
excluded in the event of a long tramp, no harm is done as 
long as the wearer is in motion. People do not take cold in 
the wettest clothing if active every moment while in the open 
air. The instant one reaches home every damp garment 
should be removed, the feet rubbed until dry and in a glow, 
and dry shoes, stockings and other garments assumed. 

The necessity of securing ease and soundness in the feet is 
apparent when we reflect that if our feet distress us, we will 
not exercise, or walk out in the fresh air enough to preserve 
good health. Painful feet affect the whole system and are 
very apt to depress the spirits, besides making one disinclined 
to either physical or mental exertion. 

We are keenly sensitive to our own discomforts, but we 
forget those of little children all too often. Never wait until 
a child complains of a shoe that has become too tight, or of 
any pain or uneasiness that its foot-covering may give. Ex- 
amine the little feet daily, and with your own eyes see that all 
is well with them. Due attention and care during childhood 
will abate much of the distress known to mature growth and 
do much to secure that beauty of outline and purity and 
plumpness so much admired in feet. 



PART IV. 



CHAPTER XL 




Poisons Used as Medicines. 

BLACKSMITH, while engaged in work, acci- 
dentally injured one of his fingers severely, and 
suffered intense pain. A physician was called to 
see him. Of course the man wanted to get relief. 
The doctor gave him an injection of morphine, which 
to a certain extent and for the time being paralyzed the 
nerve of sensation, and the man fell into a stupor. But during 
the night, when the man had recovered from the stupefied 
condition induced by the morphine, the pain returned worse 
than before. The doctor was again sent for, and, being dis- 
pleased at being called out of bed during the night, he de- 
clared, with an oath, that he would fix him, meaning, of 
course, that he would give him a large enough dose of mor- 
phine to keep him quiet till morning. And he did fix him. 
He gave him a dose of that poisonous drug which put the man 
into a sleep from which he never awoke. Some days after 
the unfortunate man's little girl, seeing the doctor on the 
street, pointed to him, and said, "There is the doctor who 
killed my papa." 

Poisons Arc Not Remedies. 

We refer to this as a warning, and to show the importance 
of people informing themselves in regard to the poisonous 
nature and injurious effects of many of the drugs employed 

460 



POISONS USED AS MEDICINES. 4C1 

by regular physicians and labeled "remedies." They are not 
remedies, they are dangerous poisons; and on every hand 
their pitiful results are apparent. It is said that in Chicago 
alone there are sixty-five thousand morphine fiends, and were 
these cases investigated, it would, we are persuaded, be found 
that, in the great majority of them, these pitiful victims of 
the morphine habit have been led into the habit through the 
prescriptions and injections of reputable doctors who have 
prescribed or administered the "dope" for the relief of pain. 
But there are safe and effective means for the relief of pain 
without resorting to such a drug. To illustrate: A patient 
once called at the writer's office suffering severely from colic, 
result of a deranged condition of the digestive organs. By in- 
jecting morphine we could easily have quieted the patient for 
the time being, but in that way we could not have removed 
the cause of the trouble. The pain is not the disease. It is 
rather a telegram to the brain that something is wrong; it is 
a sentinel warning us of danger ; and to silence, as it were, the 
pain, without attending to the danger of which it warns us, 
would be as unreasonable as it would be to knock down a 
sentinel when he comes to warn the army that danger is near. 
We therefore did not knock down the sentinel, but gave heed 
to the danger of which he warned us. We removed the cause, 
and the sentinel became quiet; the pain immediately ceased. 
We got him into a carriage, took him to his home and admin- 
istered an emetic. As soon as he vomited, and threw off the 
undigested food, and his bowels were relieved by copious in- 
jections of warm water, the pain disappeared, and the patient 
went to sleep. 

But suppose that, instead of assisting nature to get rid of 
the cause of the trouble, we had administered morphine either 
by hypodermic injection or otherwise. We would have low- 



462 POISONS USED AS MEDICINES. 

ered the vitality of the patient, and by leaving in his system 
what was causing the trouble would have left him in a worse 
condition than ever; whereas, by the simple and effective 
treatment spoken of above, he made a quick and permanent 
recovery. 

With emphasis we would affirm that poison, the natural 
tendency of which is to kill, cannot have a curative effect. 
The very nature of the thing is to destroy life, and we claim 
there is no such thing as a medicinal or curative dose of 
morphine, arsenic, strychnine, digitalis, or any poison 
used in medical practice. It is true a patient may recover 
after he has for weeks or months used, according to a doctor's 
order, the poisons mentioned. But that does not prove that 
the poisons have helped him. He has got well, not because 
of the poisons he has taken, but in spite of them. He has had 
vitality enough to resist their injurious effects, and, notwith- 
standing them, has got well. But certainly no thanks to the 
poison. Poison destroys the vital force according to the size 
of the dose. A certain amount will kill outright ; a less amount 
will only kill partially ; a still less amount will do less damage. 
But the tendency, first, last and all the time, is to destroy the 
life power of the patient. 

We, of course, cheerfully admit that there are agencies 
in nature the tendency of which is not to impair, but rather to 
arouse and quicken action, and which in consequence are of 
great curative value. Capsicum, for instance, is such a rem- 
edy. A test under the microscope upon the blood corpuscles 
shows that a weak solution of capsicum has a tendency to stim- 
ulate, as can be seen by the increased action. 

Lobelia, like manna, is in many diseases a safe and effective 
remedy. A weak solution of lobelia will relax the blood cor- 
puscles, but will not kill, while a similar solution of alcohol, 



POISONS USED AS MEDICINES. 463 

arsenic, morphine or digitalis will kill. It is a mistake, then, 
we repeat, to suppose that a small dose of these poisons will 
give a healthy stimulus. There may, indeed, be increased 
heart action after some of these poisons have been taken. But 
this, we claim, is simply due to the fact that the vital force is 
using its power in an exhausting effect to expel from the sys- 
tem the deleterious agent for which it has no use and whose 
presence is injurious. 

Mercury* 

Mercury is the mainstay of the allopathic physician. With 
him it is the king of remedies. He uses it more frequently 
than any other drug. For centuries it has been dealt out as an 
alterative when the fact is it is one of the most destructive 
poisons known to science. One of the first symptoms pro- 
duced after its introduction into the system is salivation. This 
is a profuse discharge of saliva, a swelling of the tongue, 
loosening of the teeth, catarrh, paralysis, locomotor ataxia, 
and other conditions not so well known. It is the main cause 
of tertiary syphilis, in which the disease appears in the deeper 
tissues, attacking the bones and the nervous system. 

Mercury is a poison and should have no place in the materia 
medica of any physician. Its proper place is in the arts and 
sciences. While it is not used so much as formerly, yet many 
physicians of the old school administer it in syphilis and dis- 
card it in other diseases. No wonder that syphilis is so for- 
midable and difficult to cure. I have had scores of cases in 
which the patient had been mercurialized to such an extent 
that both doctor and patient mistook the effects of the mercury 
for the ravages of the disease. The discontinuance of the 
mercury for thirty days and some simple vegetable tonic and 
alterative usually suffice for a cure. A physician who would 
prescribe mercury in any of its forms for the cure of syphilis 



464 POISONS USED AS MEDICINES. 

or any other disease certainly knows but very little of its 
effects. It is far more destructive to the health of the people 
than the disease which it is given to cure. 

In the following chapter we shall point out how pain can 
be relieved by the proper application of heat and cold. In this 
chapter our object has been to warn against the dangerous in- 
jections which do not cure, but which in thousands of cases 
beget habits which ruin their victims for life. When people 
are sufficiently enlightened to demand a more rational and 
scientific mode of practice, and will not employ the doctor who 
uses these dangerous drugs, the profession will abandon them. 
Let common sense be our guide; follow its leadings, and it 
will show that whatever lowers the vital force of a well person 
will never restore the vital force of a sick one. Prove all 
things; hold fast that which is good. 



v 



PART IV. 




CHAPTER XII. 
The Application of Heat and Cold. 

NOWLEDGE, it has been said, is power. No- 
where is this more apparent than in the treatment 
of the sick. Those who have seen the result of 
the application of some of the simplest remedies 
will be ready to admit the value of a little knowledge in regard 
to those remedies. They are very simple, and yet many fail 
properly to apply them. It was a simple matter for Columbus 
to make an egg stand on end, and no one, after he saw him do 
it, could fail to do it also. It is so in the application of the 
simplest remedies. They are in most cases very effective and 
easily applied, and yet in the hands of many they fail, simply 
because people do not know how to use them. This is often- 
the case in the application of heat. Those who understand 
the physical constitution and have had large experience and 
success in treating the sick know that when the vital 
force of a patient is exhausted heat is one of the best 
stimulants that can be used, and this stimulation can be 
variously applied. It can be applied by the foot-bath; 
by the vapor bath; by filling a rubber bag with hot 
water and applying it to the patient's feet, or other parts 
of the body. It can be applied by hot fomentations such 
as a woolen blanket wrung out of hot water. But, as has been 
pointed out by Prof. Kirk, one of the most effective ways of 
applying is in the form of a bran poultice. And it is in the 

465 



466 APPLICATION OF HEAT AND COLD. 

application of heat in this form that many fail. A friend who 
was visiting us some time ago was seized with a violent pain 
over the region of the kidneys. A large bran poultice was 
applied, and in a very short time the pain was gone. He told 
us that although he thought he was familiar with bran in the 
application of heat, he had never in reality seen a bran poultice 
before. The poultices he had hitherto seen had been too small, 
so small that in a very short time they had lost their heat and 
their effect was nil. But in this case the poultice was large, 
and, as he said, retained its heat almost the whole of the night. 

The Right Way to Make Poultices, 

Now, it is just there that a great many fail in applying heat 
through the medium of the bran poultice. Their poultices are 
too small and do not retain heat sufficiently long to accomplish 
the results desired. Make your poultices in this way : — Take 
from a quarter to half a peck of good wheat bran, place in the 
oven for five or ten minutes in a common bread pan. Have 
some boiling water ready, and a large spoon ; pour the water 
on slowly, being careful not to get it too wet. If made too wet 
it will be spoiled. If not too wet it will give out heat and 
moisture slowly. Place it in a large stocking or pillow slip, 
or bag made for the purpose, and then apply it to the affected 
parts. If it is desired to place it to the back, see to it that a 
sufficient thickness of towels or other cloths is put on the bed 
to prevent the moisture from wetting the bedding; place the 
poultice on the top of these, and let the patient lie down on it. 
If too hot, put a thickness or two of toweling between the 
poultice and the patient's skin, and remove them as the poul- 
tice cools. 

Another very effectual way of applying heat is the foot- 
bath. Take a good-sized pail that will hold at least three or 



APPLICATION OF HEAT AND COLD. 467 

four gallons. Begin with water not too warm, and gradually 
add to it, dipping out the water as it cools, and adding more 
hot water to it, gradually raising the heat until it is as warm as 
the patient can comfortably bear. If this is kept up for forty 
or fifty minutes as it should be, the patient will sweat . freely , 
and the stimulus will be most helpful. 

We claim these things of sufficient importance to justify 
us in writing of them as we have. For if rightly applied they 
are effective of great good, while if bunglingly applied they 
will fail. Let those caring for the sick keep in mind the object 
to be attained and suit the means to the end. Instead of fol- 
lowing hard and fast rules let them exercise their own brains, 
let them think for themselves and adopt such methods as 
common sense seems to suggest. 

Where Cold Applications Are Beneficial* 

While many cases of sickness call for the application of 
heat, there are others which as surely call for the application 
of cold. And then again, there are cases which call for the 
application of both heat and cold. For instance, when a per- 
son has been overtaxed mentally, and an over-supply of blood 
has rushed to the brain, leaving the extremities with a corre- 
sponding under-supply, we have a case in which both cold and 
heat are demanded. In that case wonderful relief would be 
experienced by placing the feet in hot water until the extremi- 
ties are relaxed, and using cooling applications to the head. 
A great many persons, while realizing the advantages of hot 
applications, have a prejudice against the use of cold. This 
prejudice may have arisen from the fact that bad effects have 
sometimes followed the unintelligent and indiscriminate use 
of cold. Intelligence must be exercised in the use of this won- 
derfully helpful agent. A strong man, let us suppose, is 



468 APPLICATION OF HEAT AND COLD. 

stricken with typhoid fever. His temperature is so high that 
he is delirious. Now is the time for the application of cold. 
Cool your hand in water and place it upon his head, and the 
effect will be soothing. Take a towel wrung out of cold water 
and gently apply it to the fevered head, and again the effect 
will be refreshing. If the fever is still raging, and the patient 
is undressed, folded in a sheet wrung out of cold water, and 
then covered up in bed, perspiration in a very short time will 
start and great relief will be experienced. 

But suppose the hot stage in the progress of the disease has 
passed, and his temperature has run down from far above nor- 
mal to considerably below it; now you have reached a point 
where the continued application of cold would be injurious if 
not absolutely fatal. While the fever was raging, and the 
very life of the patient was being consumed, the application 
of cold was life-giving. But now, when the fever is gone, 
and the temperature is abnormally low, the continued applica- 
tion of cold would be fatal. In the heat stage it was the pa- 
tient's life; in the cold stage it would be his death. Intelli- 
gence, we repeat, must be exercised in the use of this most 
helpful and curative agent. 

Let us suppose a case of pleurisy. The sufferer is in a high 
fever, suffering great pain and laboring to breathe. You ap- 
ply your cold application to the inflamed side, and immediately 
the patient feels that the very thing needful is being done. It 
gives relief. As soon as one towel is heated by the fever which 
is raging in the body, you have another cold one ready to 
apply. You keep this up with increasing comfort to the pa- 
tient. And in this way you must fight the pain until it is 
gone, and the patient is able to lie on the affected side. 

But let us assume that while you are prosecuting this help- 
ful treatment the patient begins to show signs of chill. The 



APPLICATION OF HEAT AND COLD. 469 

heat of the body fails before the cooling of the pleura has 
effected its work and relieved the sufferer of his pain, and a 
point is reached where for the time being the cooling must 
stop. In that case take a small blanket, roll it up, and then 
pour boiling water into it. In this fomentation wrap the feet 
and legs of the patient, and again you may safely proceed with 
the cooling of the inflamed side until the pain is removed. 

There are many other cases in which the application of cold 
is helpful. In diarrhea, for instance, small enemas of cold 
water are of great benefit. 

The Importance of Simple Remedies* 

If people would consider these things; if they would en- 
deavor to become intelligent in the application of these reme- 
dies ; if they would do a little independent thinking, they would 
have little trouble in determining when to apply heat and when 
to apply cold, and how long to use one or both. The feeling of 
the patient is often a good guide. We should recommend 
mothers especially to study these subjects and become intel- 
ligent in the use of the simple agents found in every home. 
For while, as we have said before, we are not opposed to non- 
poisonous and helpful medicines, we are desirous to impress 
upon all the value of those simple remedies within the reach 
of even the poorest. We hope our readers will follow out 
the few hints we have given and be able intelligently to apply 
the remedies we have mentioned. 



PART IV. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



Unnecessary Surgical Operations. 



N A FORMER chapter we spoke about unnecessary 
cutting. We deem the subject of sufficient importance 
yp^ to return to it, and will endeavor to illustrate the 
\£> necessity of people knowing something themselves of 
the art of healing, and not following blindly the dictates of any 
man simply because he has attended a medical college for a few 
years and writes M. D. as an appendage to his name. The fol- 
lowing case will serve to illustrate our point : 

Some time ago a merchant in the city of Chicago injured 
one of his limbs. The injury was painful, and a doctor, edu- 
cated after the most orthodox fashion, and accredited by one of 
the most rigid tribunals of medical orthodoxy— the Illinois 
State Board of Health — was called. He examined the injured 
member, and for a time treated it according to the approved 
manner of his school. But his treatment was in vain. The 
patient gradually grew worse. The doctor, having exhausted 
his own resources, suggested it would be well to call in some 
one else to consult with him in regard to the case. The man's 
family immediately consented, and two of Chicago's most 
prominent surgeons were called in consultation. They exam- 
ined the limb, pronounced it impossible of cure, and advised 
that it be amputated below the knee. The patient, submitting 
to what he thought to be the inevitable, agreed, and the day 
following was fixed as the day when the surgeons would re- 

470 



UNNECESSARY SURGERY. 471 

turn and perform the amputation. The merchant's wife, 
however, was opposed to the operation, and, without inform- 
ing her husband, she notified the surgeons not to come. She 
believed the proposed amputation unnecessary. She knew of 
a nurse who by skillful manipulation of injured limbs had 
cured them, after the doctors had failed, and she fondly hoped 
the nurse might be able to do something to save her husband's 
limb. She spoke to her husband of the nurse's treatment, and 
he finally consented to allow her to try. She undertook the 
case. Without the use of drugs; with a gentle massaging of 
the limb every day, it began to improve, and in a few weeks 
was restored to such an extent that the patient was able to get 
around ; amputation was avoided, and the limb, although stiff, 
is a comparatively well and useful one today. 

Now, is that by any means a singular case? There are 
thousands of such cases happening every day — cases in which 
patients are being dismembered and crippled for life when 
in reality no necessity for amputation exists. What we want 
to impress upon our readers is the great importance of under- 
standing what is possible to accomplish without resorting to 
the surgeon's knife. Acquaint yourselves with the virtues of 
hot and cold applications; learn the virtues of gentle massag- 
ing, or rubbing; in that way assist the healing processes of 
nature, and life and limbs, ofttimes sacrificed by the surgeon's 
knife, will be saved. 

What Sympathy and Common Sense Can Do* 

Another case in point will still further illustrate what is pos- 
sible to accomplish without cutting. The patient was in an in- 
firmary suffering from a diseased foot. After consultation 
on the part of the faculty, it was decided that cure was impos- 
sible, and that amputation was necessary to save the patient's 



472 UNNECESSARY SURGERY. 

life. He had what was called "cancerous gangrene." The leg 
was extremely painful, so much so that he could not bear to 
have any one touch the bed on which he lay. A lady who had 
never studied in a medical college, whose qualification for 
healing was a sympathetic heart, a large amount of good com- 
mon sense, an observant mind, and a fair knowledge of sim- 
ple home remedies, told the patient that, notwithstanding that 
the M. D.'s had condemned his foot to amputation, it could be 
saved. He gasped at the thought, and said he was willing to 
do anything possible if his foot could be saved. She got him 
to abstain from all liquors. She put him on light and easily 
digested food. She supplied poultices of potatoes and butter- 
milk to cleanse the wound. She used for further cleansing, and 
as an antiseptic, acetic acid diluted in water to the proportion 
of one teaspoonful of acid to a pint of wter. She used a creamy 
lather of good shaving soap, and by a generous use of that 
simple remedy relieved the severe pain. She kept that treat- 
ment up faithfully for weeks; improvement gradually ap- 
peared and in about three months the patient was able to walk. 

Give Nature a Chance. 

Scores of such cases might be adduced, showing that ampu- 
tation, in a great many cases, could be avoided if nature were 
only given a fair chance. Of course, it is true that there are 
cases where amputation is needful. A limb may be so crushed 
that there is no possibility of saving it. But while that is a 
fact, it is also a fact that in a large proportion of cases the 
amputated members could and ought to have been saved. We 
earnestly trust that the readers of these pages will think for 
themselves ; that they will so inform themselves that they will 
be able to act intelligently in such cases. We hope they will 
bear in mind that, however good a medical man's intentions 



UNNECESSARY SURGERY. 473 

may be, his environment and education, during all the years 
of his college course, have been such that it is almost impossi- 
ble for him to believe that there is any good outside his own 
materia medica. Remember, moreover, the mania for cutting 
which is abroad among our M. D.'s in these days, and be sure 
that the knife of the would-be surgeon is necessary before you 
consent to his cutting into your own flesh, or the flesh of your 
friends. Investigate; hold fast to that which is good. Re- 
member that your Creator has given you a brain to think for 
yourself. Do not delegate your thinking to others. 

A Hell in Dakota. 

The following account of a case that fell into the hands of 
M. C. Keith, M. D., for treatment, contains a warning that 
should be heeded by every American citizen. He says : 

"We are quite sure we are right when we assert there is one 
hell in Dakota. It is located at Jamestown, and is known to 
the public as 'The Insane Asylum.' 

"This hell is, or was, presided over by a doctor of the old 
school, and is run, as are all kinds of hell (so far as our knowl- 
edge extends), by the power of brute force, without any regard 
to love or kindness; and it is ready to take in a few more of 
life's unfortunates at any moment and govern them in the same 
manner. Supported by the taxes of the people of the State, 
the head of this institution can use these taxes to produce a 
hell, 

"How do we know it is a hell ? 

"There was a man who had a wife, and she was somewhat 
sick. The local doctors did not know what was the matter 
with her, and so, after they had called one after another, they 
happened to strike a scientific medical gentleman, who had 
much experience, and he decided that this sick woman had 



474 UNNECESSARY SURGERY. 

some trouble with the 'uterus.' Then this scientist examined 
and found the game he was looking for, and went to the un- 
thinking husband and told him : 'Sir, you must have an oper- 
ation performed on your wife.' 

"So the husband told the wife, and as the wife had great 
faith in this scientific doctor, who was a regular of the olden 
stripe and all that, she desired to have this operation done ac- 
cording to the latest improvements in the scientific art of 
surgery. 

"As these old-school doctors all hang together, the first one 
went and called another, and went to work to make this opera- 
tion on the sick woman's uterus. The operation which was 
to heal this sick woman was the operation of sewing up the 
uterus, which this allopath had found out was ruptured or 
'lacerated' as he called it, 'Laceration of the os.' 

"The regular doctor loves the uterus, and he always finds 
something wrong with the uterus and sews it up or does some- 
thing with it. Without a uterus to fool around the allopath 
would starve to death. After the allopath operates on this sick 
uterus the woman gets better or dies. And the operation is 
always very scientific and very allopathic. But quite often 
death ensues. 

"As long as there is a uterus to work on the allopath is all 
right. But when there is no uterus, then the allopath allows 
the unfortunate patient to die. Witness Garfield. If Garfield 
had been blessed (or cursed) with a uterus, they would not 
have punched a passage in the wrong direction, but they would 
have sewed up the uterus, and possibly he would have done bet- 
ter. He could not have done anything worse than to die. So 
Conkling. They punched at a boil on Conkling's head. He 
might have lived if they had found something the matter with 
the uterus and been fooling around that uterus. But unfortun- 



UNNECESSARY SURGERY. 475 

ately he did not have anything which they were familiar 
with, and the head was a piece of anatomy which they were 
not familiar with, and when they cut open his head Conkling 
died. 

"Call to mind Bishop, the mind-reader. These doctors 
knew he was in a comatose state, but they did not know where 
to look for the cause of his sleepiness, and as he did not have 
anything in the shape of a uterus, they had to see what was 
the matter, and they cut open his head, and of course Bishop 
was too dead to ever wake up again. 

[It may be added here that the "eminent" physicians and 
surgeons who attended William McKinley knew no more 
about his case than any American man or woman of ordinary 
intelligence. They found out what was the matter — if they 
ever found it out — only after the gentle spirit of the beloved 
President had passed away and their own bloody instruments 
of "science" had mutilated his remains.] 

"Call to mind the hundreds you have known of the men 
who have died while under the hands of the allopath, and 
while they were giving their poisons and they were cutting 
open some unwonted place in the anatomy of the body, the pa- 
tient died. But they are familiar with the uterus. They are 
constantly at this unfortunate organ. 

"And this patient in Dakota had the uterus all right, as she 
had borne four children. Still, notwithstanding she had borne 
children, something was the matter with the uterus, and this 
allopath's decision was to sew up the rupture (for so he called 
it) and then she would get well. This allopath doctor had his 
man to believe he was all right and went to work to perform 
the operation on the man's wife. They gave this woman some 
chloroform. This is necessary to do, as no one in sound mind 



476 UNNECESSARY SURGERY. 

could suffer the pains of having the needles placed into the liv- 
ing flesh. 

"So they gave the chloroform to the woman. They kept 
her three hours under the influence of this anesthetic. They 
were three hours over this job of stitching, and when the un- 
fortunate lady came out of this sleep she was weak in the head. 
You will not wonder at this, as she was under this influence of 
chloroform for about three hours. It makes any one weak 
in the mind to take these anesthetics. When she commenced 
to recover she did not appear to be any better than she had 
been when she commenced to have this trouble; the scientific 
allopath had gone home, they called in another one of the same 
school and they gave her some medicine. In spite of their 
allopathic medicine they did not seem to get the hang of the 
case, and she was as bad or worse off than she had been before 
the sewing of the uterus was accomplished. So they called in 
some more of these allopaths, and as they are all tarred with 
one brush, and what one says another will swear to, they 
said the operation was all right, but there was something the 
matter with the brain, and as they could not treat that brain so 
very well where they were, it would be best to have this un- 
fortunate woman in the insane asylum. 

"So they had the papers made out, and while she was under 
the 'influence of mania' from this three hours of chloroform, 
they shipped her out to the Jamestown, Dakota, insane asy- 
lum. 

"When they had her there, as they were high-toned allo- 
paths, they would cure her at any rate. Would you not think 
so? " 

"But the doctor who presides over the insane asylum at 
Jamestown is not one of the kind who is killing himself with 
exertions to save life or mentality. He is a society man and 



UNNECESSARY SURGERY. 477 

he loves the flesh of this world and has no time to look after 
the welfare of his patients. He had to be a politician in one 
of the two great whisky parties. He had political dignity. An 
allopath has some dignity to sustain, and when you do not 
allow him time to attend to his dignity you hurt an allopath's 
feelings. The dignity of this insane allopathic institution has 
to be sustained, and while this dignity is being sustained there 
will not be much alleviating of suffering. The State pays; 
why should the doctor exert himself ? 

"The woman went to this asylum, and, as any other patient, 
she was treated allopathically. It was not long before some- 
thing was said, and the woman resented it, and they had a 
fight. They, the attendants of this allopathic asylum, had a 
fight with this woman who had been operated on for a rupture 
of the 'os,' and they had quite a fight, too, by all accounts. 
Among all the other things which were done, they, that is 
the allopathic regular medical attendants, among other little 
amusements, knocked the woman down, and something else, 
and then, as that was not enough, they hopped on her and 
tore her right eye out of the socket. You will say she must 
have been a very high-tempered woman. You see, she at the 
first had an allopathic surgeon to operate on the uterus for a 
lacerated, ruptured womb, and then she was sent to the allo- 
pathic insane asylum, and as a help to get her mind right, 
these allopathic, regular medical attendants tore her right eye 
out of the socket. They were a board of health, so to speak, 
and it was necessary to knock the right eye out. Would you 
like to know what they did then ? 

"Then these allopathic assistants strapped this woman on 
the bed, tied a pair of gloves over her hands and kept her in 
this position, not allowing her to get up to attend to the calls 
of nature or to have a drink of water, or to do' anything, and 



478 UNNECESSARY SURGERY. 

to prevent her from making too much noise while the presid- 
ing allopathic, regular medical doctor was taking his ease, 
they gagged her. 

"A great many persons will think this happened in some of 
the dark ages, and when the newspapers were not printed. 
But it did not happen so very long ago. In the year of 1888 
these occurrences took place, and the town was Jamestown, 
which is in the State of North Dakota. And the doctor had 
power enough to keep these things out of the newspapers. All 
this and a thousand worse things than we have printed are all 
true. If you would hear some of the worst things which have 
ever made your blood boil, and if you wish to know how to 
have a hell, write to C. Nordstrom, of Mandan, North Da- 
kota, and send him a stamp. If you think you are in love 
with the allopathic way of doing business, write to this gen- 
tleman and see if you do not get enough to harrow up your 
feelings for some time. These are facts which are on record, 
and the reason why they have not been strewn to the winds is 
because this doctor is in the political party of power, and has 
been able to bribe the newspapers of Dakota so as to shut their 
pens up. 

"This is a Christian country in all things save in the allo- 
pathic school of medicine and in the alcohol traffic. Both of 
these poisoners are in control, and they are doing their best to 
poison this nation as fast as they can. This woman was only 
one victim among many now incarcerated in the hells all over 
the country. How long, O Lord, how long? 

"When the husband came and found the eye of his wife 
knocked out, what do you think the doctor told him? You 
could not guess in a month of Sundays. The doctor and the 
attendants told the anguished husband that his wife, 'not want- 



UNNECESSARY SURGERY. 479 

ing to see the attendants, had gouged her own eye out.' How 
does this strike you as a story ? - 

"When the husband went to see her they took time to take 
the gloves off, but as she had been in that position some time, 
all the skin peeled from her hands and she was really crazy. 

"Suppose you had your uterus sewed up, and while it was 
being sewed up you had lain three hours under the influence 
of chloroform ? Then, to assist you in recovering your health, 
you had been sent to an insane asylum, and the attendants had 
fought with you as we may suppose Paul fought with the 
'beasts at Ephesus,' and while you were in the fight, they had 
knocked your right eye out; then they had strapped you on a 
bed where the feet were each one drawn to a post apart, and 
the hands apart over your head, so as to present a spread-eagle 
appearance; and you were kept in this position until the skin 
peeled from the hands ; and you were obliged to lie in this po- 
sition all day and all night; yes, many nights; some three or 
four people coining to untie you and clean you up when their 
convenience suited them; away from your husband and your 
four little children ; with only brutal attendants — for you will 
acknowledge they must have been brutal to have accomplished 
all of these things. Think of this woman's position. How 
would you be about that time? Especially if you had a 
uterus and you were sent to a place where the attendants and 
all the rest of the men (?) wanted to own what should be your 
own private property. What is your opinion ? Do you think 
any name is too bad. for this institution at Jamestown, North 
Dakota? And do you not think, if we should call the doctor 
who has charge of this institution a devil, we should not be far 
out of the way? 



480 UNNECESSARY SURGERY. 

Reason, Calmness and Kindness* 

"In the condition we have described, this unfortunate wo- 
man was brought to this city, a year ago. She broke all the 
windows in a room, and then we gave her something which 
helped her to be calm, and we did not have to give anything 
like opium, either. Nor any of the cursed-of-God bromide of 
potash, which is so great a favorite with the allopath and his 
chemical mind. We treated the woman to a dose of reason, 
calmness and kindness mixed together. She grew better 
under this mixed dose and a proper diet. The main treatment 
was to cleanse that corrupt body. We did not have to use 
any strait-jacket. We did not have to strap this woman to 
each post of the bed. We did not have to call in attendants 
to tear out the other eye. As we said, we treated this woman 
as if she were human, and she came to understand she was in 
a place where the law of Christ was a living, daily, governing 
power. 'As ye would that men should do unto you, even so 
do ye unto them* 

"After a time we had the woman examined. Not until she 
could reason about herself, and was desirous of getting well. 
And we found out what was the original cause of her sick- 
ness. You will want to know. She had borne four living 
children, and she had the piles. 

"We do not think she ever had any rupture of the uterus. 
These doctors had never examined her for any rectal trouble, 
and they did not know whether she had ever had a passage of 
the bowels or not. They did not care. It was a hell sure 
enough, where they have things to knock out a woman's eyes 
if she is not accommodating to them. What do you think of 
an institution where brute force, whisky, allopathic medicine 
and the most shameful corruptions and immoralities have been 



UNNECESSARY SURGERY. 481 

administered long enough to have a real insanity brought on. 

"Would not that place be called a hell? What would be 
your idea of the parties who would keep such a doctor at the 
head of a public institution where these villainies were of daily 
occurrence? You will not wonder these allopaths want to 
have the medical laws in their hands so that no other school 
can have the chance to expose them and their cruelties. That 
is why they are so careful to 'protect the people from quacks.' 
He is a 'quack/ in their idea, who will say anything of their 
enormities and of their actions when they have the power. 

"How many of these poor women have We known who have 
had some disease as this woman had and who could have been 
cured by some simple remedy, but who, falling into these allo- 
pathic hands, have had their ovaries cut out and then been 
ruined for life. We have no respect or patience with any set 
of men or women who can fellowship such works of darkness. 
We mean this. The churches are as guilty as the allopaths. 
Many of the ministers of the Gospel know of these enormities, 
and yet they will not say a word against them, because they 
are tyrants or are afraid of their salaries. 

"Many of the legislators in Dakota know of the existence 
of this hell at Jamestown, and yet they will not do anything 
about it for fear of something which would hurt their political 
influence in the whisky party to which they belong. 

"We believe there is a time coming when all of these things 
will be righted and all of the allopaths will have to hunt up 
some other work than to live by poisoning the people. The 
time is coming, and the day is slowly dawning. 

"This unfortunate woman has been with us for almost a 
year, and she is as nice a lady as one could wish to see. Her 
mind is a little out of level yet, and she will have to be treated 
carefully for some time. But we say she was some time in 



482 UNNECESSARY SURGERY. 

hell, and we have some compassion on any one who has been 
in hell. 

"Do you think the doctor from this Jamestown institution 
will ever call on us for defamation of character? No. He 
knows better. The allopath does not want any publicity. 
They are traveling in the same boat, and many of them desire 
some easy place where they can run a hell to suit themselves. 
They think they have the softest thing in the world in sewing 
up these ruptured pieces of the uterus and in examining the 
inside of a woman. 

"When you think that nearly all of the institutions in the 
United States are in the hands of these allopaths and that they 
are all (with so few exceptions that we may say all) engaged 
in keeping the people in ignorance of the best methods of keep- 
ing their bodies in good health, and that their remedies are 
nearly all composed of the most deadly poisons which they 
will not give to members of their own families, but will give 
to the members of your family, then, when you reflect a mo- 
ment on these things, you will say with us, that if anything 
should be called a devil it is an allopathic doctor. And we are 
safe in saying that all their hospitals and all the institutions 
which they preside over are hells on earth. We get the light 
thrown on one of these places once in a while as we do now 
at Jamestown; and a short time since, at Rochester, Minn., 
where the immorality was as bad as in old Sodom; and 
at Tewksbury, Mass., where they tanned the hides of the hu- 
man beings who had been sent there as paupers." 

Dangerous Operations, 

These, it has been said, are days of daring surgery. Opera- 
tions which, a few years ago, the most skillful surgeons would 
not have dared to attempt are now performed with a fearless- 



UNNECESSARY SURGERY. 483 

ness (we had almost said recklessness) which is almost start- 
ling. And in many cases modern surgery has been as brilliant 
in achievement as it has been bold in effort. But the very suc- 
cess of the surgery of these days has given rise to evils which 
the public needs to be guarded against. In almost every col- 
lege the achievements of the surgeon have been unduly lauded ; 
and in consequence every medical fledgeling who is annually 
issuing from those colleges seems to be fired with a consuming 
ambition to be a surgeon. 

As the little boy in his first pants and possessed of his first 
pocket knife would fain try his knife on everything within his 
reach, so every little fledgeling in medicine would fain try the 
keenness of his lancet on the flesh of his fellows. The question 
as to whether a cure could not be effected as easily or more 
easily without cutting does not seem to be considered. They 
want to cut, and oftentimes they do cut when the cutting is not 
only unnecessary, but absolutely harmful. 

A man was suffering* severe pains in one of his wrists. He 
called in a doctor. The doctor diagnosed the case as a disease 
of the bone, and proposed to cut the arm open and scrape 
the bone. A friend of the suffering man advised delay. 
He doubted the doctor's diagnosis, and suspected that some- 
thing else was the matter. He applied a towel, wrung out of 
cold water, between the shoulders. He kept that up until the 
root of the arm nerves was thoroughly cooled and the pain 
ceased. Instead of being a diseased bone, it was but a case of 
neuralgia in the wrist, and the proposed cutting would have 
been simply outrageous. 

But there are many other cases in which cutting is resorted 
to unnecessarily, and with very harmful results. A child, for 
instance, has just recovered from an attack of scarlet fever. 
A swelling has formed on the neck of the child and the doctor 



484 UNNECESSARY SURGERY. 

recommends the cutting of it open. And right there a serious 
blunder is oftentimes committed, for the state of the body im- 
mediately after a recovery from scarlet fever is not favorable 
for the healing of the wound made in cutting into such a gath- 
ering. In the language of Professor Kirk, the cut parts de- 
generate into sores that defy the usual methods of uniting the 
parts severed by the instrument. It is from those that danger 
arises to the lungs and chest generally. It is not from the 
matter contained in the swollen glands that have not been cut 
open, but from that which flows from sores that stand out 
against all efforts to close them. The danger of infection to 
the general constitution from the gatherings begins only when 
these have been prematurely cut into. If you would save the 
lungs, nurse the swelling into full ripeness, let it empty itself, 
or with the most gentle hand assist it when it is fully ripe. 
Then heat it properly, and there will not be the least danger to 
lungs or anything else. Instead of cutting, assist nature to 
cast out the waste matter. Apply fomentations and thor- 
oughly stimulate action, and assist the breaking of the gath- 
ering from within itself. If the pain is severe, take a towel 
wrung out of cold water, and apply it not only to the swelling, 
but to the whole head and neck of the sufferer. Change the 
cloths as soon as they become heated ; keep up that treatment 
until the fire in the swollen gland is moderated, and a welcome 
relief will soon be experienced. 

The Mania for Cutting:* 

But not only is the medical profession suffering from a 
mania for cutting into the more simple cases — there is an am- 
bition on the part of even the obscurest practitioner to essay 
the most difficult operations. A man is suffering from a pain 
in the right side of the lower bowels, and, sure as he calls a 



UNNECESSARY SURGERY. 485 

doctor who has caught the cutting craze, he has appendicitis, 
and must be operated on. For, in these days, every pain in 
that region is appendicitis, and many, there is reason to fear, 
are being cut into and hurried to premature graves who never 
had appendicitis at all. The doctor cuts ; he finds he has blun- 
dered; the patient dies; the grave covers up the doctor's mis- 
take, and that is the end of it. 

It is pleasing, however, to note that there is a growing re- 
vulsion from the present craze for cutting even in cases of 
genuine appendicitis. It is being learned that the trouble may 
be cured without the use of the knife. At a recent meeting of 
the medical profession in New York, Dr. M. A. Terry, Sur- 
geon-General of the State, took strong ground against the use 
of the knife for appendicitis. He gave a list of twenty cases 
in which he had treated that disease successfully, not by the 
knife, but by what he calls the "oil treatment," consisting sim- 
ply of a cathartic of castor oil and sweet oil. He spoke of prom- 
inent citizens of New York who had been operated upon and 
died, and intimated that if the cutting had been refrained from 
and oil given instead, they would probably have lived. When 
such men as Dr. Terry are so strongly opposed to the knife, it 
would surely be well for the ordinary practitioner who has an 
itching for cutting to "hasten slowly," and equally well would 
it be for the people whose lives are at stake to find out if there 
is not a better way before submitting to the surgeon's knife. 



PART IV. 



CHAPTER XIV. 




The Helplessness of Doctors. 

E have no desire to undervalue the medical pro- 
fession, or to underrate the knowledge of the 
men who are engaged in it. It is a noble pro- 
fession. Many of those who are following it 
are men of extensive knowledge. They know every part of 
the human anatomy as perfectly as the most skillful and 
experienced watchmaker knows the mechanism of a watch, 
and yet who has not been impressed with the helplessness 
of the ordinary physician in the presence of disease? Not- 
withstanding their admitted knowledge of anatomy, physi- 
ology, pathology and their so-called science of therapeutics, it 
is a pitiful fact that in the presence of sickness and suffering 
men are oftentimes as helpless as a child. Nor would their help- 
lessness be to be wondered at if the cases before which they 
are often helpless were impossible of cure. We believe 
that there are cases of sickness which no power on earth 
could relieve. The final and fatal sickness must come some 
time. But not unfrequently the helplessness of the ordinary 
physician is apparent even in cases where a little practical 
knowledge of disease and the simplest of remedies would 
enable one to relieve the distress and save the life of the suf- 
ferer. 



486 



THE HELPLESSNESS OF DOCTORS. 487 

A Life Saved by Cold Water* 

The Rev. John Kirk, of Edinburgh, Scotland, mentions a 
case in point. It was that of a young man who was seized 
with violent pain in the bowels. The bowels were badly 
swollen. He had no passage whatever by the regular outlet, 
and was soon in intense agony. In this crisis the licensed phy- 
sicians were called to see him. They pronounced it "locking 
of the bowels/' and declared that nothing could be done to 
save the young man's life. A man was present who was not, 
in the generally received acceptation of the term, a medical 
man, but who was interested in medical matters, and had spent 
a good deal of time in informing himself on medical subjects. 
He believed that he could help his friend, but was naturally 
timid about assuming the responsibility of treating him. 
When, however, the doctors stated that the young man must 
die, his timidity left him, and, nerved to action by the hope of 
saving his friend's life, he went to work. He directed that 
the patient should be undressed and put in a bath tub. He 
then poured several gallons of cold water over the bowels, and 
the effect was more like a miracle than anything the spectators 
had ever seen. All pain fled in an instant; very shortly there 
was a free and natural movement of the bowels, and, as if by 
some magic hand, the young man was well. 

Now what is the lesson to be learned from such a case ? Is 
it not that we should do what we can to inform ourselves in 
regard to the treatment of the sick, and be ready to employ 
some rational and common-sense remedy, either before the 
regular M. D. is called, or as soon as his helplessness appears ? 
Give, by all means, the duly educated and accredited physician 
what merit he deserves, but at the same time don't forget that 
a man may have spent four or five years in a medical school 
and yet be ignorant of the most simple and effective remedies. 



488 THE HELPLESSNESS OF DOCTORS. 

The case cited above baffled the skill of the regular physicians, 
and yet how simple, and withal how rational, was the remedy 
which proved so effective. 

"The healthful movement of the bowels," says Dr. Kirk, "is 
like that by which an earth worm moves along the ground." 
So long as the tube which is thus moving its contents along 
by contraction and expansion keeps moving all in proper 
order, so long no part can pass under or outside that which is 
before it. But when one part loses nervous tension and ex- 
pands without contracting quickly enough, that is, both 
lengthens and widens, and fails to shorten and straighten, then 
the part behind it tends to worm itself into it, and the "knot," 
as it is sometimes called, is formed. The widened part then 
straightens and tends to shorten, but draws the part which en- 
tered with it. The "knot" soon becomes very firmly tied. No 
possible instrument can reach it in any way other than cutting 
the body open. But the action of cold is so powerful in 
straightening the tube over its whole length, that the "loop," as 
it is called, is drawn out, and the right state of things is pro- 
duced. 

The young man who saved his friend when the doctors con- 
fessed themselves helpless fortunately knew the remedy to ap- 
ply, and a sufferer who otherwise would have died was re- 
stored to health. Hence the importance of people informing 
themselves in regard to the anatomy of the human system, and 
the simple remedies by which its ailments may be cured. A 
careful study of such a volume as this will do much in the way 
of fitting one to be his own physician when the reg- 
ular and licensed doctor has proved, if not confessed 
himself, to be helpless. Meantime the great mass of the 
people are unable to help themselves in the simplest of cases. 
Thy have not given the art of healing the study which it mani- 



THE HELPLESSNESS OF DOCTORS. 489 

festly deserves. They are ignorant of how to heal themselves, 
and when sickness comes they pay large doctor bills, and un- 
questioningly put themselves in the hands of men who, while 
diplomaed and certified as duly qualified physicians, are as 
powerless to cure them as they are to cure themselves. In 
view, therefore, of the helplessness of the regular and licensed 
physicians to grapple with disease and restore their patients to 
health, we plead for a better understanding of the body and its 
ailments among the people themselves. We plead for such an 
understanding, not with the idea of doing away with such a 
noble profession as the profession of healing is, but in the 
hope that, with such an understanding among the people, they 
will demand a higher grade of medical men, the abolition of 
poisons as remedies, and a more intelligent and rational treat- 
ment. In short, we plead for such an understanding in the 
hope that just in the proportion that people become informed, 
they will demand physicians who can cure, and retire to the 
limbo of a worn-out and neglected past those who do not 
cure but kill. 

Vaccination. 

Of all the delusions that medical men have clung to, in 
spite of overwhelming evidence as to its fallacy, vaccination 
is probably the worst. Mercury and blood-letting have each 
claimed its quota of victims at the hands of the so-called reg- 
ulars, but now there are few who care to defend them. With 
vaccination, however, it is different. The sale and manufac- 
ture of the vaccine lymph is controlled by a few firms who 
have a direct interest in keeping up the fad. In Chicago, 
thousands of dollars are spent every year for this poisonous 
virus by the municipality. People are forced without any 
warrant of law, by health boards, to submit both themselves 



490 THE HELPLESSNESS OF DOCTORS. 

and children to this worse than useless practice. Syphilis and 
scrofula in its varied forms are inoculated every day into the 
pure blood of the healthy, and many of them are ruined for 
life in consequence of it. We do not overstate or exaggerate 
the facts. In twenty-five years' practice, hundreds of people 
have been treated for various diseases which could be traced 
directly to vaccination. 

What is known and sold as vaccine virus is a mixture of 
the original cow-pox of Jenner, said by him to be grease heel, 
swine-pox, chicken-pox, goat-pox and other infectious mat- 
ter. And this is the mixture that even the profession itself 
cannot define, that they are injecting into the bodies of per- 
fectly healthy people to prevent a disease that there is not one 
chance in a thousand they would ever have. And the State, 
in many instances, is responsible for these outrages, as it 
hands over to political doctors the keeping of the health of 
its citizens. 

Medicine is not an exact science, and the State does wrong 
to adopt a medical error and force it upon the people. 

Vaccination does not prevent small-pox. The profession 
even do not claim that much. The most claimed for it is that 
it modifies the disease. 

Jenner says: "I found that some of those who seemed to 
have undergone the cow-pox afterward took small-pox, and 
medical men agreed that cow-pox was not to be relied on." 

All physicians, even in Jenner's time, did not accept his the- 
ories as correct, even though the English government paid 
him one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for his discovery. 
Many of the ablest physicians of today utterly repudiate it. 

Dr. Copeland, in his Dictionary of Practical Medicine, says : 
"Vaccination favors the several forms of scrofula." 

Prof. Alexander Wilder, one of the most scientific physi- 



THE HELPLESSNESS OF DOCTORS. 491 

cians now living, in a special article on Vaccination, says : "It 
is the infusion of a contaminating element into the system, 
and after such contamination you can never hope to regain the 
former purity of the body ; thus tainted, the body is made lia- 
ble to a host of ailments. Consumption follows in the foot- 
steps of vaccination as certainly and as unequivocally as effect 
follows cause, and wherever it is common to vaccinate, scrof- 
ula and tuberculosis are general/' 

These facts are admitted by English medical authorities, 
and statistics show that after vaccination became general, and 
during the twelve years between 1853 an< ^ ^65, there was an 
increase of deaths from consumption of about 230,000 over 
the preceding twelve years, and during the same period an in- 
crease of 100,000 from measles, scarletina, whooping cough 

and croup. 

That syphilis can be so transmitted we have the testimony of 
no less an authority than Professor Ricord, of France, who 
states his conclusions in the following language: "At first I 
repelled the idea that syphilis could be transmitted by vaccina- 
tion, but today I hesitate no more to proclaim the reality." 

In a pamphlet published by Prof. Joseph Jones, of Nash- 
ville, Tenn., in 1867, he records the sworn testimony of a large 
number of eminent physicians showing that hundreds of sol- 
diers in the Confederate army had died of syphilis and gan- 
grene, caused from vaccination. Facts like the above could be 
quoted by the thousands. Enough are given to show the re- 
sults of the practice, and that all medical men do not en- 
dorse it. 

Why then do so many physicians believe in vaccination? 
Because they have never investigated it personally. Not one 
doctor in a hundred has ever read Jenner's book. They vac- 
cinate because it is the custom to do so. It is one of the blind 



492 THE HELPLESSNESS OF DOCTORS. 

fetiches for which no satisfactory explanation has ever been 
given. Small-pox is a filth disease, pure and simple. The 
only and proper way to eradicate it is to teach people cleanli- 
ness. It makes its greatest inroads in the abodes of poverty 
where the sanitary conditions are unfit for human beings. A 
better and more just economic condition will abolish small- 
pox, as it will every other disease whose origin is filth. 



PART IV. 




CHAPTER XV. 
An Ounce of Prevention. 

JSEASES such as diphtheria, scarlet fever or small- 
pox are classed as ''contagious diseases." It is 
supposed that contact with a person suffering 
from any of these so-called contagious diseases is 
extremely apt to convey the malady to a healthy person; 
and in consequence, when any disease regarded as con- 
tagious presents itself in a family or community, the most 
unreasoning concern is oftentimes manifested. The case is 
immediately reported to the health officers, and to prevent the 
patient's contact with others he is frequently, without consult- 
ing either his own wishes or those of his friends, hurried off 
to some pest-house or hospital. And the motive which prompts 
the arbitrary and often unduly hasty removal of a patient suf- 
fering from any of the so-called contagious diseases is said 
to be humanitarian. The isolation of the patient, it is said, 
is necessary to prevent the disease from spreading among oth- 
ers. His presence in the home, or in the community, where 
others are likely to be brought into contact with him, is a 
menace, it is alleged, to the public health, and therefore a 
benign consideration for the health of the many demands that 
he be isolated even from his nearest friends and" conveyed to 
some institution publicly provided for the reception and treat- 
ment of just such cases. 

Now we cordially grant that the public health should be 
jealously guarded, and that the duty of those entrusted with 

493 



494 AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION. 

the care of the people's health is to see to it that everything 
inimical to good health he, as far as possible, removed from 
where the people are. Notwithstanding our repugnance at 
what has seemed to us the harsh and despotic treatment to 
which the sick poor especially have been subjected by accred- 
ited "health officers," in their efforts to stamp out so-called 
contagious diseases, if we were convinced that such treatment 
were really necessary to conserve the public health, we should 
be the last to utter a single word of protest or dissent. But 
we are not convinced. On the contrary we are sure that the 
prevailing practice of hurrying off the patient to some pest- 
house or hospital, and depending on that to prevent the spread 
of the malady, is worse than useless. 

Take for example a case of scarlet fever. The patient is 
the first in a large community to "come down" with the disease. 
In his case the disease is not the result of contact with any 
other scarlet-fever patient, for there is no other case near. He 
has never been exposed. Whence, then, did the disease come 
to him ? There must be a cause. There is no effect without a 
cause, and where scarlet fever, measles, small-pox or any 
infectious or contagious form of disease makes its appearance, 
we should apply ourselves to an understanding of the cause. 
Whence, then, comes the disease to the patient in question ? It 
comes from a condition of atmosphere. And that, as has 
been aptly said, cannot be carried off on a stretcher or in an 
ambulance. You may remove the scarlet-fever or small-pox 
patient, but you leave the disease-giving condition of atmos- 
phere behind, and in consequence your removal of the patient 
has done nothing to take away the cause of danger from 
others. 

Let us suppose that the case of scarlet fever which, for 
the sake of illustration, we have assumed, has broken out in 
a poor home — where perhaps a large family is living in two 
or three small rooms at a cold and wet time of year. The at- 



AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION. 495 

mosphere is chill and damp, and laden with the elements of 
scarlet fever, or other forms of disease. And shall we prevent 
the spread of disease in that family by removing to a pest- 
house the first member of the family who is attacked with it 
and then, as if we had performed our whole duty, dismissing 
the matter from our thoughts, as is frequently done? Nay, 
by simply removing the patient, we have not even touched the 
cause of the malady. We must direct our attention to the 
unhealthy atmospheric conditions in which the family is living. 
We must see to it that the house is thoroughly ventilated, that 
the cold, damp atmosphere is warmed and dried, and the house 
filled with dry, fresh air. If, in addition to this, the patient 
is thoroughly sponged with acetic acid or good strong vinegar, 
and the air of the sick-room is impregnated with the fumes 
of that excellent purifier, the best thing possible is accom- 
plished, and the fear of contagion from the patient may be safe- 
ly dismissed. In the judgment of an eminent authority the 
room so treated, even with the sufferer in it, would be by far 
the safest room for the other members of the family to be in, if 
the other rooms were neglected. Be calm in the presence of 
any contagious form of disease. Don't lose your self-posses- 
sion, or imagine that the isolation of your sick one is the one 
thing needful. Keep cool. Give your attention to the atmos- 
phere in the home. Make it pure and sweet as above indicated, 
and the danger of contagion or infection will be reduced to 
almost nothing. 

Incipient Consumption, 

Consumption in America is woefully common. It is a 
disease which seems to set the medical profession at defiance. 
The most renowned medical experts have spent years in labori- 
ous effort to discover something by means of which they may 
arrest this most prevalent and fatal of diseases. Ever and 
anon it is announced that a specific has been found. But not- 



496 AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION. 

withstanding the acclaim with which these so-called remedies 
have been heralded in the past, time has but shown their worth- 
lessness, and today the ordinary physician is as powerless to 
grapple with that formidable malady as he ever was. 

The recently much vaunted discovery of Dr. Koch was 
hailed as a remedy, and from ocean to ocean the consumptive 
was encouraged to hope that the German chemist had a gospel 
for him. But, like many others, the Koch "discovery" has 
seemingly proved to be no discovery at all, and consumption 
runs riot as before. But notwithstanding the apparently in- 
curable nature of this disease in its advanced stages, in its in- 
cipient or early stages it may be cured. Nay, in very 
many cases it has been cured. Dr. Samuel Thomson, 
the great apostle of Physio-Medicalism, says in his "New 
Guide to Health" : "I have had a great many cases of this kind 
(of consumption) and have in all of them, where there was 
life enough left to build upon, been able to effect a cure." Dr. 
Thomson is a reputable and eminently trustworthy witness, 
and in view of his testimony that he had cured many consump- 
tives, it must be conceded that consumption, at least in its in- 
cipient stages, may be cured. 

But what is the remedy? The most important thing is to 
raise the inward heat where it needs raising, and to cool those 
parts which are already burning up with fever. If you could 
look at the inside of the chest of a consumptive patient, you 
would see, says Prof. Kirk, "little dark red patches here and 
there on its inner surface. These are what we call inflam- 
matory patches. If you could place the bulk of a small ther- 
mometer in the near neighborhood of one of these dark red 
patches, you would find that it would indicate above a hundred 
degrees. They are, in fact, parts of tender tissue 'on fire.' : 

"In all instances of what is called bronchitis or pneumonia," 
the Professor adds, "the inflamed patches are in the front of 



AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION. 497 

the chest, and the back is cold rather than hot." The all-im- 
portant thing, then, we repeat, is to heat the parts which are 
too cool and to cool the parts which are already on fire. Take 
a large, warm bran poultice, not so warm as to burn the skin, 
but as warm as the patient can comfortably bear, and apply it 
between the shoulders. Then take a cloth wrung tightly out 
of cold water, apply it to the chest, and with the hand press it 
gently all over. And thus while the hot poultice is stimulat- 
ing and giving life to the lungs at the back, the cold cloth is 
lowering the. flame in the front. Don't be afraid of the cold 
in front. With a large warm poultice at the back the cold in 
front will be agreeable to the patient, and not otherwise. The 
cloth in front need not at first be large. Indeed it may be 
well to begin with a small cloth, but after a while you will be 
able not only with safety but with great profit to the patient to 
apply a large towel. 

On any occasion when not feeling as well as usual length- 
ened seasons of rest in bed and limited food, thereby allowing 
extra time for repose to heart and lungs, will be helpful. 

Beware of well-meant attempts to feed the patient with 
what is termed good, nourishing diet. As a rule such diet 
only feeds the disease. The patient's food should consist 
chiefly of good milk, grains and fruits. No kind of alcoholic 
stimulant should be thought of, nor whatever would accelerate 
unduly the circulation in the weak lungs. Let the above 
treatment be followed and we should look for a speedy cure. 

Household Antiseptics. 

Instead of using the poisonous antiseptics, such as corro- 
sive sublimate, iodoform, carbolic acid and other agents of a 
dangerous nature, as good results will be obtained with articles 
that are always in the household. Hot water at a temperature 



498 AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION. 

of 122 Fah. is one of the best. It is used in the Paris hospi- 
tals extensively. Tincture of myrrh is a good local remedy 
for indolent ulcers and canker sores. Salt and vinegar are 
excellent if pure. Camphor, either the water or the spirits, 
is also good. 

It is not necessary to use poisons even as antiseptics. 

A Friendly Warning* 

There are physicians and physicians, but when it comes to 
needing the advice of a surgeon, a woman especially should be 
careful to whom she goes for advice. Very often the patient 
dies under the anesthetic, and is it not about as well to take your 
chances for life one way as another? And more often the 
chances are ten to one in favor of the patient if an operation 
is not resorted to. 

The daily papers report many cases where the result of an 
operation has proved fatal to the patient, but these are only a 
small per cent of the many thousands which end in the death 
of the confiding victim. 

"Oh, well," you may say, "my doctor is such a nice man, 
and he would not wrongly advise me." 

Just there you may be mistaken, for the wiser he may look, 
the more ignorant he may be ; or the more fine his appearance, 
the more need there may be for you to be on your guard, as 
he may have mercenary motives in advising an operation. 
Then, if you are not suffering everything but death, you had 
better wait awhile, unless a competent body of physicians tell 
you that an operation is your only hope of being saved. Most 
of the cases recorded in the daily papers state that the opera- 
tion was a simple one. If they were so simple, was there not 
some doctor, some means by which the trouble .night have been 
cured without resorting to an operation? Surely there was. 



AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION. 499 

Not long ago we witnessed an operation at a large hospital for 
a tumor of the ovary. When the incision was made and the 
surgeon was exploring the cavity, he remarked, "Well, she is 
poor; she has three children now, and I guess she don't need 
to have any more, so I will just save her any further trouble 
by taking them both out, although that one is all right." Sup- 
pose those children all die in one week of diphtheria. Must 
the poor mother go through life without an object upon which 
to place her affection ? And in case her husband die also, she 
may be denied all help or means of support in her old age be- 
cause she has no children to care for her. There are many 
things to consider, not the least of which is the fact that the 
women who undergo operations are disposed to become unbal- 
anced mentally, as many of them cannot recover from the great 
shock their nervous system receives. 

We feel we cannot* give our readers too much caution about 
these operations. Not long ago there came to our notice the 
case of a young woman who went to a traveling specialist for 
nervous trouble. In his little dark room, in the hotel where he 
was stopping, and without asking her to remove or loosen her 
clothing, he proceeded to operate upon her for rectal trouble. 
He had a chamber maid, who was passing along the hall at 
the time, and who was an unsophisticated country girl, come 
in and administer the chloroform. He said that he always 
called in the porter or somebody for the sake of decency. Im- 
agine having a hotel porter or chambermaid at a surgical 
operation. When this man removed the cap from the nose 
of his victim, strange to say, she was dead. Then, without 
loosening her clothing or raising the window and giving her 
air or doing anything to restore her, he went post-haste for 
some brandy an4 some one to call another physician. His ac- 
tions were doubly criminal, as a post-mortem examination 



500 AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION. 

revealed the fact that the young lady was perfectly healthy and 
did not need an operation, and in the second place, he might 
have saved her if he had done anything to resuscitate her. 

Now, we do not wish our readers to be under the impression 
that there are not necessary operations, but we do wish to ad- 
vise them against unnecessary ones. For, if you do not meet 
the fate of some patients, you may be led to believe you have 
undergone an operation, when the fact is that you have not. 
But in either case, your pocket-book must suffer, and why pay 
for something you do not need, and which may injure you? 
Intelligent women should be educated to take proper care of 
themselves, and if they conform to the laws of Nature, there 
will be less excuse for surgical operations. 

Some Personal Reflections* 

Dear reader, no excuse is needed for offering you sugges- 
tions for your physical welfare. But what excuse can you offer 
yourself for refusing to learn facts concerning your own body ? 
What excuse have you for allowing disease to encroach upon 
you through ignorance or disregard of Nature's laws? What 
excuse have you in time of sickness for delaying your own 
recovery by being unable to intelligently aid Nature in her 
efforts to restore your body to health ? If your excuse is that 
your father and grandfather lived their allotted time without 
such knowledge, then you should seek some calcareous region 
and strive to acquire a fossil body to correspond with your 
fossil mind. If your excuse is that your body can take care 
of itself as long as you have a good time in this world, then 
we should say, enjoy yourself while you can, but get out of 
the way when sickness comes upon you, and don't make the 
lives of others miserable by your self-inflicted invalidism. 

While your soul hovers about this world it has a marvelous 



AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION. 501 

house to live in, whose organs are like the rooms in a magical 
palace. Don't be content to sit quietly in one corner in an easy 
chair, but investigate ; learn what a magnificent structure your 
body is ; learn how every apartment is equipped for use ; realize 
how delicate is the handiwork and how easily it can be de- 
stroyed. Perhaps such an investigation will cause you to be 
more careful whom you admit inside your door. Perhaps you 
will decide to debar such tramps and loafers as tobacco and 
alcohol and treacherous narcotics. 

Don't sit still and entertain visitors indiscriminately. High- 
ly flavored foods and their indigestible companions may for a 
time afford you gustatory enjoyment; but some day you may 
awaken to the fact that important parts of your palace have 
been destroyed for the sake of entertaining such company. And 
when you realize your mistake, when disease is evident, don't 
permit some blundering carpenter-physician to strive to repair 
the damage by destroying other parts of your palace by the 
administration of poisons. The chances are he will succeed 
only in destroying or weakening the usefulness of other apart- 
ments. Nature alone is the skillful repairer of damage to your 
body. Aid her in every way possible. And in case of sickness 
don't open the door of your body to receive whatever may be 
thrown into it. If you do not understand the laws of your own 
body and do not know how to aid Nature, then, and then only, 
send for a physician ; but let him be a follower of Nature and 
not a believer in the false doctrine that disease must be poi- 
soned out of the system. 

THE END. 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 



A 

Abscesses 

Acidity of the stomach 

Adaptation in marriage. .. .101, 

After-pains 

Afterbirth 

Agamo-genesis 

Air-bath, The 72, 

Air, fresh, value of 

Air, Need of 39, 

Alcohol, effects of 

Amativeness 

Ambidexterity, advantages of. 

Amenorrhea 

Amputation, unnecessary 

Antiseptics, household 

Appendicitis 

Appendicitis cured without cut- 
ting 

Applications, external 

Applications, hot 434, 

Applications, cold 

Apprentice system superseded. 

B 

Babe, the new-born 213, 216, 

Babies, requisites for well-born. 

Baby, how to dress the 

Baby's crying, meaning of 

Bachelor girls 

Bachelor homes 

Bath, air 72, 

Bath, baby's 

Bath for parturient women 



Bath, internal 57, 72, 204, 284 

289 Bath, stomach 52 

210 Bath, the purpose of the 403 

103 Bathing 54 

219 Bathing during pregnancy. .197, 202 

218 Bathing infants 223 

9 Bathing, proper manner of 404 

73 Baths, various kinds of 55, 406 

410 Beauty acquired by self-culture. 31 

199 Beauty and grace 80 

440 Beauty Culture 72 

J 79 Beauty, means for adding to. . 33 

452 Beauty of body and soul. ..... 37 

Bees, experiments with 298 

471 Bed-clothing 398 

% Beds - 6 7 

Beds for babes 234 

4 ge Beds, advisability of single.... 185 

2 jc Blackheads 74 

465 Body, needs of the. . . '. 37 

465 Books for the young 99 

363 Breathing 38 

Breathing, correct, the basis of 

health . ... 382, 385 

2 ' Breathing exercises 70, 386 

Breathing through the mouth. . 384 

22° "Breath is life" 382 

II7 Bronchial affection 263 

jj« Bronchitis 272, 495 

73 Brown, Dr. Eli F 292 

223 Bruises, cuts and wounds 433 

213 Bunions 458 

503 



504 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 



C 

Cancer 289 

Celibacy 19 

Change of life 289 

Character 20 

Character and mind, molding. . 239 

Character-building ' 252 

Character formed by training. . 92 

Character, ideals of 28 

Character in embryo 205 

Character, sterling worth in... 309 

Chicken-pox 267 

Child-bearing, frequent 163 

Child-bearing period, dura- 
tion of 289 

Child-birth 212 

Child-birth, painless 215, 216 

"Child crowing" 261 

Childhood, disorders of 253 

Childhood, training of 88 

Child-nature, the phenomena of 333 

Children, desirability of 109 

Children, diet for 49 

Children, growth of 250 

Children, rearing of 256 

Cholera infantum 264 

Cleanliness, physical 312 

"Cleanliness is godliness" 403 

Clermont, Jane, example of 380 

Clothing and dress 407 

Clothing for children 414 

Clothing for infants 230, 232 

Cold applications, where bene- 
ficial 467 

Cold in the head and throat 432 

Colds 262, 431 

Cold water saves a life 487 

Colic 210, 259 

Colon, flushing the 57 

Comenius, father of modern 

education 328 

Common sense, power of 471 



Conception 187, 195 

Complexion, the 72 

Conception, prevention of. .112, 178 

Conservation of forces 153 

Constipation 52, 210, 258 

Consumption 410, 495 

Contagious diseases 266, 493 

Contagious diseases may be 

avoided 384 

Continence the law of love 112 

Convulsions 262 

Corns 80 

Corsets 42, 62, 278 

Counterirritation 275 

Creative force 14 

Crying babies 225 

Crying babies unnatural 235 

Croup : 262 

Croup, membranous 274 

Culture, mental and physical... 416 

Curvature of the spine 236 

Cuts, wounds and bruises 433 

Cutting, revulsion from 485 

Cutting, the mania for 484 

D 

Dandruff, cure for 76 

Degeneracy 164 

Del Sarte breathing exercises. . 70 

Del Sarte, Francois 80 

Desire, power of 22 

Despondency 25 

Development, all-sided 361 

Dianism 180 

Diarrhea. .52, 210, 235, 257, 264, 469 

Dickens, quotation from 21 

Diet 48 

Diet, effect of, in sex-determin- 
ation 300, 302 

Diet during pregnancy 201 

Diet for children 229 

Diet in case of painful men- 
struation 167 

Diet, royal, of bees 300 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 



505 



Digestion 396 

Digestive powers, abuse of the. 57 

Diphtheria ....._ 273, 493 

Dizziness 211 

Doctors, helplessness of 486 

Dress 4 o 7 

Dress during pregnancy 199 

Dress for babes 213, 230 

Dress, hygienic 58, 278 

Dress, rational method of 409 

Drink, danger from impure... 439 

Dr opsy 289 

Drugs, danger of, for children. 235 

Drugs, deadly danger of 436 

Dysmenorrhea 164, 166 

Dyspepsia 52 

E. 

Ear, abscess of the 266 

Ears, care of the 450 

Eating 388 

Eating, right times for 395 

Eating, rules for 53, 390 

Edgerton, poem by 28, 129 

Education, need of the higher. . 97 
Education, Ruskin's view of. . . 364 

Education, the pioneers of 328 

Eliot, George, quotation from. . 91 
Embryo, sex tendency in the. . 295 
Energy, the right direction of. 64 

Eruptions, facial 74 

Evolution 21 

Eyelids, inflammation of 255 

Eyes, abuse of the 446 

Eyes, a good wash for the 448 

Eyes, care of the .79, 445 

Eyes, effect of, on general health 445 

Exercise 278 

Exercise during pregnancy.... 197 

Exercise, equalization of 167 

Exercise for children 250 

Exercise for infants 236 

Exercise, healthful value of. . . 420 
Exercises, special , ,,, 69 



Experiments in sex-determina- 
tion 297 

F 

Face, bathing the y^ 

Facial eruptions 74 

Facial expression ^3 

Facial massage 74 

Family life 109 

Family, the, and the state 335 

Fashion governed by reason... 411 

Fasting, necessity of 429 

Fear, the folly of 26 

Feeding infants 223, 225 

Feeding of infants, artificial. 221, 227 
Feeding the new-born babe. . . . 

217, 220, 221 222 

Feet, care of the 79, 456 

Female organism superior 302 

Fichte 330 

Figure, female, proportions of 

the 47 

Fission 9 

Flooding after child-birth 217 

Flowers, sex in 320 

Flowing, excessive 170 

Food 48 

Food, combinations of 52 

Food, danger from impure.... 439 

Food for invalids 429, 438 

Food, the fuel of the body 394 

Food, variety in, desirable.... 391 

Foot-bath 458 

Foot-covering 457 

Footwear 412 

Freckles 75 

Froebel, Frederick 331 

Froebel on food 49 

Froebel's "Education of Man". 332 

FroebeFs system 334, 339 

Frogs, experiments with 297 

Fruits 53 

Fruit, value of during preg- 
nancy 210 



506 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 



G 

Gamo-genesis 9 

Generation 9 

Generation, sexual 194 

Generation, the organs of 147 

Generative organs, female 154 

Genius and sexuality 19 

Gifts (Froebel's), meaning of 

the 340 

Good and evil 23 

Gowns, sensible and artistic... 60 
Greeley, Horace, opinion of col- 
lege men 357 

Growth of infants 242 

H 

Habit, power of 35 

Hands, care of the 75, 454 

Hands, chapped 76 

Hands, the, an index of char- 
acter 452 

Hands, use of both 452 

Hair, care of the 76 

Hair, superfluous 77 

Happiness in the marriage re- 
lation 106 

Haying-time in Scotland 121 

Headache 211 

Headache, cause of 446 

Headache, nervous 445 

Health is beauty 82 

Health, the laws of 426 

Health, what constitutes perfect 419 

Hearing, the organs of 450 

Heartburn 210 

Hell in Dakota, a 473 

Helpfulness . . 129 

Home-makers, a word to 424 

Home-making 116 

Home to unfold the larger life. 125 

Hosiery 60 

Hot-air bath 55 

Hot applications 434 



Humanity, oneness of 36 

Hysteria 210 

I 

Ideals, ante-nuptial 97 

Ideals of character 28 

Idleness 36 

Ignorance cause of women's 

ailments 277 

Indians, example of, in breath- 
ing 382 

Indulgence, fruits of 181 

Infancy, disorders of 253 

Infancy, hygiene of 223 

Infants' clothing 230, 232 

Infants, development of 242 

Infants, feeding of 223, 225 

Infants, sleep of 233 

Infants, spiritual development 

of 238 

Infectious diseases 266 

Inner and outer life 32 

Intercourse, sexual in, 180 

Intercourse during pregnancy. 207 

Internal bath 204, 284 

Isolation of patients 493 

J 

Joy Lesson, Mrs. Talbot's 34 

K 

Kant, Imrnanuel 330 

Kindergarten 328 

Kindergarten, importance of the 353 
Kindergarten, preparation for 

the 336 

Kindergartner, the true 338 

Knowledge makes pure 311 

Koch's (Dr.) discovery 495 

"Kreutzer Sonata" 176 

L 

Labor, the three stages of 214 

Laceration of perineum 204 

Lacing, tight 43 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 



507 



Leucorrhea 283 

Life, dominant power of 20 

Life, inner and outer 32 

Life, long, not a secret 50, 373 

Life, making the best of 379 

Life, mature 132 

Life's laws, teaching 98 

Life, teaching the origin of . . . . 317 

Life, the harmony of 361 

Life, the vital principle of . . . .9, 19 

Literature for the young 90 

Living, rational methods of . . . . 374 

Long Life, the secret of 50 

Love .. . 23 

Love, Emerson on 95 

Love, mysticism surrounding. . 18 

Love, the rule of 316 

Love-union, the 180, 188 

Lungs, the 38 

M 

Manicuring 455 

Manual training 356 

M/anual training, influence of. ... 315 
Manual training superseding 

apprentice system 363 

Maidenhood 83 

Marital self-control .' 189 

Marriage 16, 99, 100 

Marriage and sensuality. ...... 98 

Marriage, complementary life of no 

Marriage, friendships in 107 

Marriage, ideal 96 

Marriage, mental harmony in.. 101 

Marriage, perfect 106 

Marriage, physical adaptation in 103 

Marriage, preparation for 15 

Marriage, true 19 

Marriage relation, the 173 

Massage 170 

Massage, facial 74 

Massage for the hair 76 

Massey, Gerald, on rearing chil- 
dren 251 



Mating 99 

Measles 268 

Medical profession, helplessness 

of the 486 

Medicine chest, the mother's. .. 274 

Medicine, is it a science 442 

Medicines, danger of strong. . . . 437 

Medicines, poisons used as 460 

Medicines, superstition concern- 
ing 443 

Menopause, the 289 

Menorrhagia 169 

Menses 160 

Menses, suppression of the 168 

Menstruation 160 

Menstruation, excessive 169 

Menstruation, painful 164 

Menstruation, irregular 170 

Menstruation, vicarious 164 

Mental and physical culture.... 416 

Mental harmony 101 

Mercury a poison 463 

Mind, the power of 142 

Moderation in diet 49 

Moderation, value of 375 

Morning sickness 201, 210 

Morphine and opium not cura- 
tive ,jj>~ 441 

Morph/vf fiends 461 

Morris, William, on art 127 

Motherhood 191 

Motherhood, enforced 178 

Motherhood, unwelcome 177 

Mother, the convalescent 220 

Mumps 270 

N 

Nails, ingrowing 80, 458 

Narcotics 501 

Narcotics and stimulants 440 

Nature alone can cure 501 

Nature's power 472 

Natural selection, the law of. .. 122 

Navel, the 253 



508 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 



Navel, rupture of the 

Near-sightedness, cause of. 

Nervousness 

Neuralgia 

Niagara of Time, the 

Nursing 

Nursing mother 

Nursing sore mouth 



Obedience and the rule of love. 

Obesity 

Occupations designed by Froe- 
bel 

Offspring, desirability of 

Offspring, determining sex of. . 

Offspring, requisites for well- 
born 

Offspring, transmission of 

Old age, youth in 

Operations, dangerous 

Operations, unnecessary 

Opium and morphine 

Organs of generation.' 

Ovaries, removal of 

Ovum, the 

Ovum, the (diagram) 

Oxygen 



Pain, Nature's signal of dis- 
tress 

Parental control of sex 

Parental love 

Parents as teachers of truth. . . 

Parents their children's com- 
rades 

Parturition 

Passion, cooling of 

Passion, guidance of 

Passion, ungoverned 

Pestalozzi 

Physical culture 

Physiognomy 



254 
449 
210 
211 
352 
248 
230 
256 



316 

52 

350 
191 
292 

193 
9 
134 
482 
470 
441 

147 
162 

195 

159 

38 



441 

293 
192 

85 

89 
212 

177 
14 
183 
329 
416 
20 



Pimples 74 

Plant life, sex in 320 

Pleurisy, relief for 468 

Plasters 435 

Pneumonia 495 

Poisons not remedies 460 

Poultices 434 

Poultices, how to make 466 

Pregnancy, bathing during. .197, 202 

Pregnancy, diet during 201 

Pregnancy, disorders of 209 

Pregnancy, dress during 199 

Pregnancy, duration of 211 

Pregnancy, exercise during.... 197 
Pregnancy, intercourse during.. 207 
Pregnancy, physical signs of... 209 

Pregnancy, the period of 196 

Pre-natal culture 187 

Pre-natal influence . . . 194, 205, 206 

Prevention of sickness 386, 428 

Preventives to conception 112 

Proctor, Adelaide, quotation 

from 175 

Prudery and ignorance 84 

Prudery and modesty contrasted 312 

Prudishness, the curse of 83 

Puberty 13 

Puberty, age of 161 



Q 

Qui Vive's (Mrne.) skin food. 
R 



73 



Reason and thought 20 

Recreation 65 

Remedies, importance of sim- 
ple 469 

"Resolution" 28 

Respiration 38 

Rest 66 

Rest during pregnancy 197 

Rest, necessity of 438 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 



509 



Rousseau 328 

Rubbers and waterproof gar- 
ments 413 

Rubber overshoes 458 

Ruskin's view of education.... 364 



Salisbury's (Dr.) system...... 52 

Sandals 413 

Scarlet fever 269, 493, 494 

Sea bathing 405 

Self-abuse 168, 278 

Self-control, marital 189 

Self-culture 31 

Self-culture and beauty 34 

Sensualism 12 

Sensuality and marriage 98 

Sex and life 19 

Sex a quality of soul 87 

Sex controlled by parents 293 

Sex, definition of 9 

Sex, determination of 10 

Sexes, equality of the 93 

Sex in plant-life 320 

Sex of offspring 292 

Sex principle, manifestation of. 13 

Sex, sacredness of 317 

Sex tendency in the embryo. . . 295 

Sex, the force of 121 

Sexual attraction 15 

Sexual generation 194 

Sexual instinct 10 

Sexual intercourse in 

Sexuality and genius 19 

Sexual organs, female 154 

Sexual organs in plants. . . .321, 327 

Sexual organs, male 147 

Sexuality in plays 17 

Shoes 60, 80, 413, 457 

Shoes, ill-fitting 456 

Sitz bath 55, 203, 213 

Sickness, to prevent 428 

Sickness, what not to do in. . . . 436 

Sickness, what to do in 426 



Sin 22 

Singing, beneficent effects of. . . 423 

Skill and intelligence 362 

Skin, care of the 72 

Skin food, recipe 73 

Sleep and the bath 397 

Sleep for babes 233 

Sleep for children 229 

Sleep, how long to 399 

Sleep, proper position for... 68, 74 

Sleep, when to 4 00 

Sleeping-room, married people 
should not occupy the same. . 185 

Sleeping-rooms 40, 67 

Sleeping-apartments, proper 397 

Sleeplessness 210 

Sleeplessness, remedy for 73 

Sloyd system, the 363 

Smallpox 269, 492, 493 

Social intercourse 19 

Society 19 

Soul, the temple of the 31 

Spermatozoa I53> J 95 

Stage, relation of, to sexuality. 17 

State, the, and the family 335 

Stimulants and narcotics 440 

Stockings 45 

Stomach bath 52 

Stories, salacious 18 

"Strike of a Sex" 187 

Summer complaint 235, 264 

Surgical operations, unnecessary 470 

Sympathy, power of 471 

Syphilis transmitted by vac- 
cination 49 1 

Syringe, use of the 57 

Sunburn 75 



Talbot's (Mrs.) Joy Lesson... 34 

Teaching hand and brain 354 

Teaching the origin of life 317 

Teeth, care of the 77 

Teething 229, 245, 247, 260 



v/ 



510 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 



Teeth of infants 77, 245, 247 

Thought and reason 20 

Thought-force, experiment with 24 

Thought, influence of 32 

Thought, pure 279 

Thought, purity of 104 

Thought, the power of 21, 142 

Thrush 256 

Tobacco 501 

"Tom-boy," the 88 

Tonsilitis 273 

Training, character formed by. 92 

Training of childhood 88 

Training of youth 13 

Truth should be taught 310 

Tumors 289 

U 

Ulceration of the uterus 288 

Umbilical cord 253 

Underclothing 59, 412 

Unselfishness, the blessing of. . 193 

Urine, irritation from 254 

Uterus, displacement of the... 286 

Uterus, ulceration of the 288 

V 

Vaccination 489 

Vapor bath 55 

Variety the spice of life 422 



Vegetarianism 392 

Ventilation 39 

W 

Waist measurement 47 

Warning, a friendly 498 

Water, hot, effects of 57, 58 

Waterbrash 210 

Weaning 228 

Weight and height 47 

Whooping-cough 271 

Wilcox, Ella Wheeler, quota- 
tion from 24 

Will, Nature and the 376 

Will, the, and its guidance.... 313 
Women's ailments, causes of. . 281 
Woman in the new century. ... 118 

Woman, professions for 117 

Woman's "sphere" 120 

Womanhood, the unfolding of. 83 

Work 63 

Work, the joy of finished $66 

Wounds and bruises 433 

Wrinkles, prevention of 74 

Y 

Yogi breathing 383 

Youth in old age 134 

Youth, the fountain of 141 

Z 
"Zugassent's Discovery" . . 187, 189 



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